The Siege: Special Edition
by Brin
Summary: This is the story of Terminal City. Tensions are rising and hopes is running out. The transgenics are running out of time. Can Max raise Terminal City to the challenge of survival? It's The Siege as you've never seen it before.
1. Gathering

"If the English language made any sense, a catastrophe would be an apostrophe with fur." – Doug Larson

Preface 

Though some of you out there in Internet-land may not care about what I have to say here, I'm typing up this foreword to The Siege to sate my own desires to feel special. Hopefully, most of you can understand that. This is actually meant for those who have read Siege, so if you haven't read the original version, this introduction will probably make little to no sense. New readers are advised to ignore this and just read on—please?

If you've read the original version—bless ya. I hope you have enough patience with me to read this new version, which is much closer to what I intended to create when I first began writing Siege. Though I'm still very proud of the original, I believe that this second version delivers the story in a much clearer and clean-cut way.

When I began writing Siege, I had no idea I would take it to the level that I have today—two sequels and a spin-off or two. Furthermore, I couldn't have predicted how attached I have become to my characters—they're like old buddies nowadays. It may make me seem like a psycho with no real friends, but it's true. I have created a world that I'm genuinely proud of, and at fourteen years old, I like that feeling. However, as time wore on, the more I looked back on The Siege, the more I realized how much my writing style has changed and, in my opinion, advanced since then. I believe that, through writing The Siege and its successors, I've been able to move forward as an author and, therefore, I need to give Siege the long put-off makeover that it deserves.

In my opinion, the new Siege is edgier, simply because I've been able to mature to a point where I'm not uncomfortable talking about and dealing with some of the concepts in this fan fiction, such as sex, which was hard for me to work around as a thirteen-year-old fledgling fan fiction author. Also, I think that I gave some of the characters a more accurate portrayal, as my ability to write sarcasm and recognize personality traits has evolved. The action sequences are more clean-cut and read at a faster, hopefully more interesting pace than before.

So here it is—The Siege, as I could never pull it off before. Hopefully you'll enjoy reading it as much as I did revamping it.

Thank you so much for sticking it out with me,

**Brin**.****

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters in this story that appear in the hit syndicated TV show, Dark Angel, owned and created by James Cameron. I do, however, own any and all original characters that appear in this work of fan fiction.

Summary: At the end of the season finale, we were left with a siege between the American military and the transgenics holed inside Terminal City. Now what? Inside the transgenics' new home forms romance, controversy, and an adventure none of them will very soon forget.

The Siege 

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by

Brin 

"Most days, I get by fine. I blend with the crowd. Just another one of the huddled masses yearning to get by unnoticed. Problem is, I'm not as like them as I'd like to be. I got made, not born, and because it was humans made me somewhere along the line couple of wires got crossed in my head. Someone botched the job. So some days, that's how I feel - a botched job." –Max Guevara

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_So many days have passed since my world hit the fan. One day, Jam Pony Messenger with a general irritation with the universe… the next, a half-assed excuse for the leader of a nation. The Freak Nation. I knew it would someday come to this. It was always at the back of my mind… but I had always hoped it would never arrive. What happens now, only time will tell._

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**Chapter 1: Gathering**

There were few words to describe how X5-494, more popularly known as Alec, felt on this drab, depressing day. He wasn't cold, but he wasn't warm, and he wasn't comfortable, but he wasn't uncomfortable. The rain had soaked him to the bone this morning as he ran a check of the perimeter, but dry places in Terminal City were few and far between. He tossed some more shards of wood onto the fire. They were running dangerously low on fuel for the tiny fires that worked as makeshift heaters in a town where nothing worked unless you fixed it yourself. The sandy-haired transgenic wiped his hands on his pants and plopped down next to Logan, who was looking haggard and stubbly in the odd light.

"After the wood is gone we'll have to use the battery-powered heaters and lights. We want to save the generator and gasoline as long as possible," declared the transgenic, attempting—and failing—to warm himself on the flames.

Logan, deep in thought, only grunted in reply.

"Fine then. Don't feel social. I understand," muttered the X5, standing up and going over to Mole, puffing away on his cigar like always and toting that trusty shotgun of his. Everyone knew it was empty—it had been since the Jam Pony situation—but the hunk of charred metal seemed to be the only thing (besides cigars) that could calm the hotheaded 'nomlie. "You okay?"

"Peachy." Mole took the smoke from his mouth and glimpsed around the area impassively. About twenty fires dotted the slippery floor of the parking garage they had taken refuge in, each of them surrounded by roughly ten transgenics.

Alec let out a breath that could've passed for a slight chuckle, but instead sounded like a winded sigh. Knowing he was not going to get more out of the brooding anomaly, he went over and sat down next to Max, who was talking in hushed tones with Joshua next to a slightly larger fire. "Hey, guys." He patted Joshua on the shoulder. "Holding up, Big Fella? Max?"

"Holding up," replied the dog-man softly. Though a most formidable man, Joshua looked like nothing more than a wounded puppy, moisture shining in his eyes as he gazed into the leaping flames.

Max passed her doe eyes over Alec's face, the bags under his eyes and Terminal City grime in the grooves of his face. She shrugged as she replied, "I'm fine, too. Thanks for asking. You wanna… uh… sit down?" Awkwardly patting the place next to her, she provided him with a small, almost nonexistent grin.

"Uhh… sure," he replied, thankful that he really wasn't invisible. "So what's going on? Any plans yet?" The male transgenic wasn't used to sitting and waiting; he wanted to do _something_. He was not a patient man, nor one to sit around in the face of apparent and almost certain death. Go down fighting, in an explosion of bullets and fire—that's how he wanted it to be.

"Nope. Right now we're just… hoping for a miracle," Max replied sadly. "I don't think anything short of that will get us all out of here alive." She dragged her hand over her face, disgusted at the feel of her own skin. In Terminal City, showers were few and far between. They had five working showerheads, all of which were _always_ occupied considering the hundreds of residents in the infamous TC. The water was collected, purified, and pressurized through a number of machines set up by several specially-trained mechanic transgenics. It was one of those instances where one was _glad_ to live in a city where it rained every day.

"Not all of us will walk away from this, Max," said Alec gently. "Sometimes it's the price you have to pay." He slung a strong arm over her shoulders comfortingly, pleased when she didn't stiffen or shrug away from his touch. "There's always a price to pay for happiness."

Joshua twiddled his thumbs. "Alec right. Anything worth keeping is never kept without a fight, Little Fella," he said, remembering the words from one of Father's many novels. "You've got to fight for what you want."

"I know, Josh, but…" She hopelessly waved a hand towards the other transgenics present. "_Look_ at us. I don't want to lose _anyone_."

Alec slowly drew his gaze over the room. Across the fire was an anomaly with three babies—two in her arms and one in her lap. There were a few X6s huddled together a few feet away, sharing one dirty woolen blanket. A lizard-like transgenic sat chatting with Original Cindy, his mate sleeping peacefully with her head in his lap. Some younger anomalies laughed and chatted as they played a game of checkers. This building was the most tolerant, housing at least one of every different kind of transgenic.

"We shouldn't be here," announced Joshua quietly. "None of us deserve this." He waved one large hand over the fire, dumping some copper nails into the flames, which burst green in response. He grinned in small enjoyment at the spectacle of chemistry.

Before Max could reply, she heard Sketchy calling her name and quickly ran over to where he was focused intently on the television. "Look," he murmured, his voice severe.

Max reluctantly turned to watch, unsure of what she should expect to see.

"…Chaos erupted today on the siege front as five transgenics armed with AK47's and carrying backpacks containing stolen inventory from a local convenience shop were apprehended by the National Guard as they tried to enter Terminal City. The leader of them, wanting to be known as simply 599, injured ten officers in his attempt to resist arrest. The prisoners were taken down with high-potency tranquilizers, and reports say that it 599 took enough sedative to knock out a male elephant before he lost consciousness. With the permission of National Guard, we were able to interview one of the prisoners," the reporter was saying. Behind her, a mob of people jeered at the camera, waving their anti-transgenic signs threateningly.

There was a quick switch to another reporter, standing next to a young man with a brace round his neck and cuffs on his hands. A police officer held a gun to his side, making no effort to hide it from the camera.

Max's jaw went slack. Her chest tightened with anxiety. "Krit," she whispered, touching the screen gingerly.

_Krit glared at the reporter_, _who shied away slightly_, _but_, _to his credit, stayed close enough to remain on camera_. _"What?" the X5 snapped_, _his rough_, _deep voice sounding like a literal bark._

_"I, uh, have a few questions for you," replied the reporter, adjusting his glasses uncomfortably. "First of all, what's your name?"_

_"Let's keep it simple and you just call me 471," Krit replied flatly._

_"Okay… 471. Tell us… why you are trying to get into Terminal City? Most would assume that you would try to get _out_ of this place, seeing the situation."_

_"My family is in there. We were trying to get them supplies since you assholes are content to just let them starve to death in there while you sit out here drinking champagne and complaining about how your toast is too hot," growled the X5 emotionally. He narrowed his eyes._

_The reporter gulped tensely, but determinedly continued the interview. "And what do you know of the transgenics inside?"_

_Krit raised an eyebrow. "Now why would I tell you that?"_

_"It's for the people. They want to know the truth."_

_Krit glanced over his shoulder at the heckling crowd. "Looks to me like they want to tear my head off."_

_"Please, just a few words, 471."_

_"Well," began Krit with a sigh, "I've been told that they have adults, teens, children, infants, and a few pregnant females." He paused long enough to shrug. "Just like a small town."_

"_Thank you_," _said the reporter, adjusting his glasses again. _"_Back to you, Sheryl_."_ His voice had taken on a subdued tone_.

Mole slapped his hand against the television, shutting it off. "No more. They want us dead! Like Biggs! They're gonna hang us in the street!"

"Cut it, Mole," snapped Max, not wanting this hotheaded transgenic to get everyone riled up.

"What was that about 599?" asked Dix from his perch on a broken couch several feet away. "I remember having a run-in with him after Manticore burned. Tough guy."

"Yeah, yeah he is," whispered Max, her throat suddenly dry. If Zack and Krit were outside the perimeter… she had to get them in. She hugged herself and rubbed her arms, though not because she was cold.

"Leave her alone," insisted Sketchy, putting his arm around Max. "You okay, Maxie-girl? I haven't seen you this shaken up since that Josh Hartnett guy retired."

"Thanks, Sketch." Max laughed lightly and hugged the scruffball that was Sketchy, thankful he was at least competent enough to understand this situation. When she pulled back, she put on her best determined face and declared, "I'm gonna get Zack, Krit, and whoever else is with them inside." She took a deep breath. "Just watch me."

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After arming herself with a knife, Max wandered through the groups of transgenics in a search for a few willing, able-bodied soldiers. She couldn't risk any more tension between them and the public, so she preferred to recruit X series instead of "monster-faced" 'nomlies. Logan had offered to come, but she refused because, though his bionic legs gave him extra power and speed, his upper body strength held no comparison to that of a transgenic.

She found what she was looking for in a group of teenage transgenics roughhousing in a dark corner of the parking garage. Adolescent transgenics weren't necessarily as strong as the older ones, or as wise, but they had natural street smarts and tended to be a bit more nimble than the transgenics who had reached their twenties. Some of them looked normal, but the majority resembled cats, dogs, lizards, or rodents, and some were just deformed. Currently, a lizard-like girl and a young man with black spots all over his skin were arm wrestling. It seemed to be a deadlock; their arms remained almost completely still, but their faces were tight with effort. The rest of the teens were hooting and shouting or booing and jeering. One of them, a doggish young man of about 19, spotted Max and swaggered over.

"What can I do for you, beautiful?" he drawled coolly. He was different in appearance from Joshua, his eyes spaced wider, his ears squared off, and his nose more triangular. It was almost like he was based off of a different breed of dog—and, in reality, that was probably true.

"I'm looking for a few capable gents to help me spring five X5s from the police barricade," she replied crossly. "And by the looks of it, you're the guy I need to see."

"Xs… not my problem," declared the young man, crossing his arms over his barreled chest and flashing her a smug grin. "It's a dog eat dog world out there. Every kind to themselves."

"My ass. I see those Xs over there, and they're probably throwing most of the money on the table," snapped Max with a threatening glare. "Shall we do this the easy way or do I have to bash that smug grin of yours inside out?"

"Now, now, no need for threats milady. I, a mere mortal, would never be able to deal with the prowess of a great X5." The anomaly complacently winked at her, then bellowed over his shoulder, "Hank, Junky, Pick, Eddie, come 'ere."

Max watched as four young transgenics disengaged themselves from the mass of teenagers and jogged in their direction.

"The name's Axle, by the way," stated the dog 'nomlie. "I was one of the less-successful models to come after you X5s." He waved his hand over the three boys and one girl he had called over. "Hank, Junky, and Pick. X6's."

Max nodded. The three boys looked as normal as could be. Hank was shorter than the other two, with curly brown hair, a crooked nose, and tan skin. The kid next to him, Junky, was a cocky, lazy-looking blonde who probably would've been right at home hanging out with Sketchy. On the end was Pick, an alarmingly tall youth with a muscular abdomen and exceptionally thick arms.

"And this is Eddie," stated the dog 'nomlie with a toothy grin. He put his broad hand on the shoulder of a sixteenish anomaly with distinctly feline features and, of all things, a _tail_ sticking out of a hole in her ratty jeans.

"They'll spot us right off with _that_," argued Max, waving a hand at the swishing appendage.

Pick glared at the X5, protective vibes coming off him in waves. "She can tuck it away," he insisted through clenched teeth.

Now that he was focused on her, the kid seemed even more formidable. His brown eyes smoldered with a passion not found in most people after the Pulse, especially teenagers. Standing a head over the X5, his biceps and triceps bulged, stretching the fabric of the black t-shirt he wore to the limit. This was not a young man who Max wanted to get into a fight with. She held up her hands submissively and muttered, "Whatever." A pause. "Is this the best you have to offer?"

Eddie scoffed and swished her tail

Max grinned at the girl, liking her already, and instructed, "Arm yourselves and meet me at the back of TC. We'll work out the details there."

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Amos Mantilla of the National Guard knelt behind a patrol car, his automatic fixed on Terminal City. He hated this work; it was like sitting there waiting for a monster to come out and eat him up. The entire siege had been uneventful, but he couldn't get rid of the uneasy feeling in the pit of his stomach. This side of Terminal City had no protestors. It was the side farthest away from where the main transgenics were said to be camping, and after so many years in the service, he had learned that protestors mostly stuck to large groups—they were safer that way.

"Hey, look!" called one of his comrades, jolting Amos out of his thoughts.

The middle-aged man jerked his head up to see something jumping from roof to roof, coming towards them. "What the hell is that?" he grumbled, raising his binoculars to his eyes. At first glance he perceived it to be a large cat bounding from building to building. It had a long, heavy tail and pointed ears, but he quickly realized that it unmistakably had the posture of a human. "It's a transgenic!" he yelled, locking onto the target with his sniper rifle.

The group of guardsmen all readied their guns, but before they could get any level of aim on the transgenic on the roof, four more sped out of the buildings in front of them and pummeled the surprised guardsmen senseless in 2.3 seconds.

Max let her last victim slide to the ground, his nose broken and teeth flying everywhere. "That was too easy," she commented agitatedly, her eyes flying around the horizon of buildings.

"Yep," replied Junky whilst arming himself with the abandoned guns. "Someone get a lock on the snipes."

"Roger that," answered Pick in a half-serious tone.

Eddie caught up with them and accepted an AK47 from Hank. "Nice," she commented as she expertly hefted the submachine gun.

"Got a lock?" asked Max as she handed Eddie some ammo.

"There are three of them," replied Pick, cocking the trigger of his gun. He held it up and shot three times, but as he did two of the snipers also shot, striking Hank in the shoulder and Junky in the thigh. No more bullets, came, however, as Pick's aim was true and the three weapons were rendered useless in a burst of metal shards.

"That was real marksmanship, right there," complimented Max. "All three guns. I thought you were going kill them."

"Now where would that leave us in the media's eyes?" He winked, then ran to his friends' sides.

"Shit," growled Junky through clenched teeth as he leaned on his good leg, pressing a fist into the hole in his thigh to stop the bleeding. "That'll leave a mark." He accepted a piece of cloth from Max and tied it around his wound while Hank did the same for his.

"All right?" asked the X5.

"We'll be fine," replied Hank through deep breaths.

"Okay. Let's go."

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Max pulled her hood down so that it covered all sides of her face as she maneuvered through the crowd of angry Ordinaries, slowly but surely making her way towards the front where the prison truck was. Behind her, Pick and Junky followed, though they kept their heads up because they were not yet known as transgenics. Hank had been posted as a last-resort sniper while Eddie, not exactly normal-looking, rode on Pick's back with her face buried in his jacket and her tail tucked away underneath the oversized sweater she had borrowed from Junky.

"ETA approximately thirty seconds," Max mumbled, knowing that her companions' enhanced hearing would pick up her words. "Keep it cool."

They passed several reporters and finally came to the police barricade, where the anti-transgenic chanting was the loudest and most violent. On the ground were burning pictures of transgenics—especially Joshua.

"That's sick," Junky growled under his breath. "Bastards."

"Ssh!" urged Max nervously. She peeked at the prison truck, which had been pelted with rotten fruits and vegetables and eggs, creating a rancid stench . "There it is. The only question is how to get there…" Glancing around, the young woman spotted ten more snipers situated on the roofs around them. From his position inside one of the surrounding buildings, Hank flashed her a signal by reflecting the sun off the face of his watch. "Watch for the snipers. They're everywhere."

Pick looked around warily. "They could take us out in half a second and they're _not_ going to hesitate like they did back there. Those were amateurs; they were probably waiting for word from command before shooting us. That means the Guards here know we're coming."

"Yeah, but they won't tell the public… might cause mass panic," interrupted Max. Her head snapped to attention as the prison truck suddenly began to sway back and forth, nearly tipping over and causing the crowd to grow quiet in utter fear of the "monsters" inside. A smiled momentarily crossed the transgenic's face. "They've seen us."

"Who?" asked Pick, moving from behind Max to her side.

"The other X5s. They know we're out here. Must've heard a transmission. This is gonna be quick and it's gonna be dangerous, so be on your toes," she announced. "Junky and Pick, I want you two disarm the cops. Eddie, come with me."

"What about my face?" asked the girl, peeping out from underneath her hood.

"Don't worry about it. As soon as we cross the barricade, it won't matter," said Max with a small grin as she pulled a gun from her jacket. "On two… One… t—"

Before she could say 'two,' however, the prison truck totally capsized and five familiar figures jumped out. The snipers fired and the National Guard rushed to contain the panicking crowd while the local Sector Cops tried their best to figure out what the hell was going on.

"Go!" shouted Max over the mayhem. She, Junky, Pick, and Eddie joined the frenzy. Bullets rained around them, but they moved so quickly the snipers could barely keep them in sight.

Max sped over to the five figures who had jumped out of the truck, nodded towards Terminal City and ran off. The other X5s were hot on her heels to escape the downpour of bullets. Eddie remained behind to help Junky and Pick while Hank jumped from the warehouse he had been stationed in, flying over the heads of the crowd and landing next to Junky. They stopped briefly enough to steal some guns from the Officers, then ran back into the safety of Terminal City.

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"I've got injured people over here!" called Max as she entered the parking garage-turned Ground Zero.

Joshua and Alec came rushing over, along with a few other transgenics carrying medical packs.

Max turned and, for the first time, looked over the five she helped to escape. Her jaw went slack. "Krit… Zack… Syl… Brin?"

Krit didn't say anything at first, but embraced his little sister in a tight bear hug. He smelled of gasoline, pork rinds, and lemons—good ol' Krit. Pulling back, he brushed a thumb across his sister's cheek and kissed her forehead. "Maxie, we were so damned worried about you! Your face was all over the national news. CNN, NBC, CNBC, ABC, MTV, you name it. Are you okay?"

"Yeah, but I don't know if I can say the same for you," she said, gesturing to the gaping hole in his shoulder, which had consequently bled all over her own clothes—but she didn't mind at the moment.

"Just a scrape," he joked before going over to an anomaly holding a medical case.

Eddie, Hank, Pick, and Junky had caught up with them by now. Hank sported a good-sized hole in his palm and Junky's kneecap had been shattered after a bullet had ricocheted off of one of the patrol cars, injuring his other leg. Eddie and Pick, my some small miracle, got by without a scratch and helped their ailing friends limp back into TC.

Max, after making sure that the X6s and anomaly were okay, turned to the remaining four X5s. Zack, Brin, and Syl she recognized immediately, but the last one, a brunette, Max had never seen before… or had she? Her face struck a chord in Max's memory. Thick, dark hair played about her slim shoulders and her wide-set blue eyes twinkled with childlike mischief. Max felt her chest tighten with astonishment as realization hit her like a cold bucket of water. "Jondy?"

"Last I checked," replied the pale-skinned transgenic with a playful grin. She pulled Max into a tight hug—the first one they had shared in over ten years. Two sisters were suddenly reunited, and their childhood feelings of complete devotion to their friendship came rushing back like a waterfall. "I would cry, but you know it's just _so_ unbecoming of an X5…"

"You're Jondy alright," Max stated with a wry smile, noticing the suspicious moisture shining in her long-lost sister's azure eyes. "Who could mistake that sarcasm? You haven't changed a bit."

"Besides the hair and boobs, not much," retorted Jondy, laughing. "Good  to see you again, baby sister. I've missed you so much."

"Okay, okay, break it up before Jondy gets all emotional on us," interrupted a sharp voice. "What, no hug for me?"

Max looked up at Syl, all blonde hair and biting attitude, and smiled toothily. "Syl!" she embraced the blonde, then leapt back with a gasp of shock. "What the hell happened to you?"

Syl turned sideways and showed off her expanding belly proudly. "What, this? Do I really need to explain where babies come from, Max?"

The younger X5 chuckled in spite of herself and rubbed the taut skin of Syl's stomach affectionately. "Congrats, Syl!"

With a wink, the blonde X5 replied, "Don't forget to tell Krit that, too. And from now on, I am Mrs. Krit Guavera. This is all his fault."

Max's eyes widened. Krit? Syl? Married? While it made perfect sense that these two would marry, it was also strange that they would go to such a domestic level since they were usually labeled as the 'wild children' of the '09 escapees (which was _really_ saying something)… but there's a first time for everything, she supposed. "Are you serious?"

"As hell," replied Syl, displaying her wedding ring with pride. The band was platinum with a massive, sparkling diamond sitting on top of it like a goddamn Ring Pop. "We would've invited you, but it was a sort of last-minute thing."

"Excuse me, Miss?" interrupted a transhuman with eyelids that blinked from side to side instead of up and down. "Are you hurt?"

Syl and Jondy glanced at him, then at Zack, Brin, and Max, all of whom were studying the ground with rapt concentration. A silent agreement passed between them, and excuses to leave bubbled out of their mouths like second nature. Being a genetically engineered liar definitely had its benefits when it came to uncomfortable family reunions.

"My back aches," announced Syl nonchalantly.

"I got nicked by a bullet on my arm," Jondy piped in.

"If you'll step this way, we have medical units waiting."

Jondy and Syl shot Max farewell, slightly empathetic glances over their shoulders before allowing themselves to be led off by the transhuman, leaving Max totally alone…

With Brin and Zack.

Max uncomfortably shifted her weight from one foot to the other. Her gaze was still pinned to the grimy floor. "Hey, guys. Long time no see," she murmured almost shyly.

"Hey yourself," replied Zack tentatively. He dragged his fingers through his hands and let out a long breath of apprehension.

"I… um… I thought you were working for that old farmer, Buddy, nowadays," continued the younger X5, pushing a lock of hair behind her ear.

"Me too," he said quietly. "That is, until I saw my little sister's mug all over national television. It was a slap in the face. Then, three days later, Syl and Krit turn up on my doorstep telling me that we had to come here to help you out. The Manticore insert in my brain did its job. Only this time, I won't be trying to kill Logan, or _anyone_ for that matter… well, with the exception of the Ordinaries intent on hanging us, of course."

"You remember trying to kill Logan?"

"Nope. Not a thing. Krit told me about it. He heard it from an X6 who heard it from an X5 who heard it from an anomaly who heard it from another X5 who heard it from Joshua who must've heard it from you or someone else here in the ever-lovely Seattle." He chucked and held his arms out invitingly. "Basically, it was the word on the street."

Max couldn't help but smile as she embraced him tightly. His ratty leather jacket smelled vaguely of cow dung and alcohol. "Glad to have my big brother back," she whispered, tears welling up in her doe eyes. Over his shoulder she spotted Brin, who was staring back at her hesitantly.

Zack juggled his gaze between his two younger sisters and, sensing the need for them to be alone, quietly announced, "I'll be over getting some bandages while you two sort things out." He pointed to his leg, which was dotted with small spots of blood. "Shot me in the thigh with those damned darts about twenty times."

Max grinned at him humbly as he limped away, then turned to Brin. The Asian X5 had changed more than the others, but it wasn't in physical appearance. She was more… _subdued_ than before. Before reindoctrination, when Max had had those small instances to look into her sister's eyes, she had seen hardy determination even in the face of apparent death. After being brainwashed into Manticore's beliefs once again, her black orbs had been fiery with loyalty to Manticore and a need to bring the other X5s back into custody. Now… she stared out from behind docile black eyes. She held herself like a tired, weatherworn veteran than the twenty-something soldier she was. Brin had been defeated by Manticore. Max sucked in a breath and, unsure of what would come out of her mouth, began, "Look, Brin…"

The shorter X5 shook her head and held up her hand. "No, Max. Whatever you're gonna say… I just want to cut to the chase and say I'm _sorry_. I'm so sorry..." Tears glimmered in the small X5's eyes.

Max affectionately touched her smaller sister's cheek and felt a wave of forgiveness wash over her. No matter how many angles she tried, there was no way to stay mad at Brin, who was suddenly transformed into the innocent, passive little girl from her childhood memory. "Baby sister… it's alright. It's not your fault. They brainwashed you."

Brin gulped and managed a tearful half-smile. "Thank you." She paused long enough to wipe her eyes. "Krit and Syl found me, after Manticore was destroyed. Those two have really helped out. God, Max, I've missed you so much!"

Laughing softly, they embraced each other, and Max was surprised to find something wriggling on Brin's back. "What's this?" asked the taller X5, turning Brin around. She started chuckling when a tiny baby peeked out at her from inside its carrier. "How come everyone is having babies nowadays? Did I miss something?"

"For me, it's all about the breeding program," replied Brin with a rueful expression. "But for the lucky ones like Syl and Krit, it was by choice."

Max tickled the baby's chin and he giggled, grabbing her finger with pudgy hands. "How cute! What's his name?"

Brin took off one of the carrier's shoulder straps and gingerly pulled the infant into her arms, placing a kiss on his cheek. "His name is Ben."

"It's perfect," affirmed Max, her smile widening. "Little Ben."

They stood in companionable silence until Alec trotted over and handed Brin a change of clothes and some cotton blankets. "Here. You can freshen up at the showers. That guy over there with the goggle, Dix, will show you the way." He waved a hand at the transhuman.

"Thank you," said Brin, accepting the items with a grateful smile. "See you around, Max."

"If there's anything you need, just ask. Most of the people around here are friendly," called Alec as she left.

Max grinned at him. "Since when did _you_ become Mr. Hospitality?" she asked, crossing her arms over her chest and raising an eyebrow.

Alec playfully flicked her nose, then dodge her flying fist and received a kick in the shin. Laughing, he choked out, "Since _you_ became the transgenic queen."

"Is that good or bad?" she asked uncertainly, looking faintly disturbed by the idea of it. Her, the leader of an entire nation? The _Freak_ Nation, of all nations? It didn't seem right. She was a street savvy X5 with no real agenda other than staying alive. It wasn't her job.

"I think it's a good thing. Definitely. Would you rather have Mole as our leader?" asked the male X5 with his trademark crooked grin.

Max cringed. "I see your point."

Alec imitated putting a cigar in his mouth and slinging a shotgun over his shoulder. "Damn Ordinaries, myeah! I'm gonna kill 'em all!" he joked in his best Mole voice. "Bring it on!"

"Smartass," replied Max though she was laughing at his little show.

"No, no, no, Max! Smart Alec. You must remember that. Smart _Alec._" 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

That night, Eddie and Pick sat cuddling on the rooftop of the parking garage, watching Joshua's flag wave in the chilly night wind. It was a good feeling to have their own flag… to know that they were a united people. In a way, it symbolized their need to be normal—to have their own flag, their own nation, and to live their own way, without having to be afraid. That was what all humanity wanted, wasn't it? Besides, it no doubt annoyed the Ordinaries to no end, which was always a plus. 

"You think we'll ever _really_ be free?" Eddie asked, laying her head on Pick's shoulder.

The X6 idly played with a lock of her dark hair, twirling it around his finger. "I think it'll cost both sides a lot, but one day we'll be free. Or maybe the new generation—the new babies without the barcodes—will be free. Good or bad, one day this will have to come to a close."

Eddie snuggled up to him, purring like a household kitty cat. "We could start our own country in Terminal City. We're the Freak Nation."

"We should rename the place," Pick suggested, the idea causing a smile to spread across his handsome face. "One that shows our pride, like Transgenic Central."

"Sounds like a high school," snorted the anomaly with a grin.

"Okay then, what about…" he chewed on his lip. "The City of Dark Angels?"

"Enticing, but without a beat."

Pick sighed dejectedly. "Alright then, you try it."

"Me?!" she asked incredulously. "My name's Eddie. Enough said."

The X6 laughed and kissed her on the top of the head. "Well, it was a good idea."

"I got an idea for ya," interrupted a rough voice, causing both teens to jump.

"Mole!" exclaimed Pick, embarrassed at having let his guard down. "What are you doing up here?"

"I was just checking the grounds," he answered, taking the cigar from his mouth as he looked down at them. "Are you two lovebirds okay up here? She's underage, Pick. Watch it."

Eddie blushed at his blunt words. "We're fine," she mumbled, turning away from the older anomaly to bury her face in Pick's shoulder.

Mole laughed heartily. "The truth is damned humiliating, ain't it?" He began to walk away, then, as if thinking better of it, turned back around and said, "If you guys want to rally the troops with a good name, try taking a good look around." With that, he turned and went down the stairs, leaving them alone again.

Pick glanced up at the night sky, seeing only the brightest stars shining down upon them through the smog of Seattle. He put his arm around Eddie's slim shoulders and whispered, "This place is our last hope. Some of us will die here and some of us are born here. It's our nation. Our home. Our Last Hope."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


	2. Toxic

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters in this story that appear in the hit syndicated TV show, Dark Angel, owned and created by James Cameron. I do, however, own any and all original characters that appear in this work of fan fiction.

The Siege 

By

Brin 

"The only person you can rely on, Max, is yourself. Everything else is just a lie. It's phony sentimentality and it will get you killed." –Zack

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

_It's strange to have my siblings back. I mean… I spent my whole life outside Manticore looking for them and now that they're here… I don't know what to do with myself, really. Sometimes I have to pinch myself to make sure it's real. That they're real. And the hard part… the really difficult part to deal with is… now that they're inside Terminal City with the motley bunch of us, there's a chance they'll die too… and not for the first time in my life, it'll be on account of me._

**Chapter 2: Toxic**

Tensions were high in Terminal City the next day. Security of the perimeter had been increased nearly tenfold, or at least that's what they gathered from news reports and the fleeting video clips of the outside. Simple logic said that if Max and a few kids could get out, then the lot of them could as well—but things never worked out that way. With hundreds and hundreds of transgenics holed inside the city, it would be impossible to get more than half of them out before the alarm was raised and the bulk of the United States military came crashing down on them. The death toll would be frighteningly high and unneeded, and Max didn't want that. She thoroughly stomped any suggestions to just storm the barricade. Her ending argument was this: Where would they go one they were out? And it worked on most everyone, save, of course, good ol' grumpy Mole.

"We're all going to go crazy in here," yelled Mole angrily, his face a mere inches away from Max's. His stump of a cigar was so close to her face that she could feel the heat of it on her skin. "The pressure is enough to break an X7!"

"Look, Mole, the best thing we can do right now is find something constructive to do with our time, like maybe clean this place up?" She made a broad, open-palmed gesture to their current living conditions. Broken glass, bent metal, shards of wood, and general trash covered nearly everything. "Terminal City is a twenty-block area. There has got to be _mountains_ of useful stuff left behind. We should send out foragers," she suggested flatly.

Mole sighed and spat the cigar out, glaring at the tobacco trail left as it bounced across the floor. "Fine then. I'll do something 'constructive with my time,'" he grumbled sourly. "Shooting a damn Ordinary seems more constructive to me."

Max shook her head as she watched him stalk away. She had come to a belief that Mole was a borderline schizophrenic, one moment acting like he wanted to be some big, heroic leader and the next becoming a bloodthirsty monster with no patience to think anything out. He was going to do something stupid one day, she could just feel it.

"Some of them never learn," commented Alec nonchalantly. He had watched the entire exchange from a ratty couch a few feet away. "You should keep an eye on him."

"Always do," she replied as she collapsed onto the couch next to him. "He's going to get himself killed."

"Naw, don't be like that, Max," said the male X5, a broad grin stretching his face as he patted her hand patronizingly. "You should wait to kill him when no one is paying attention."

Max looked like she was going to hit him, but instead broke down and began laughing softly. "Ass," she murmured half-seriously.

"Look, you need to relax. We're going to be here awhile," he added in a matter-of-factly tone.

"And I think I'm about ready to hunt down this Sandeman guy and kill him myself for bringing this down on our heads… that is, if he's still alive," she seethed.

Alec chuckled. "Ah, it'll be okay. You'll see. You're Max. Nothing gets by you." When she still didn't smile, he continued, "Girls kick ass. Says so on a t-shirt, right?"

The female X5 provided him with a tiny grin. No matter how much she didn't want to admit it, Alec was starting to seem rather… charming. Maybe it was just the tension…  She blinked. "Alec, I need you to do something for me," she announced.

"Anything… unless it's jumping up and down, flapping my arms and clucking like a chicken, 'cause you know I have a reputation to keep up," he replied with a characteristic wink.

Max laughed out loud in spite of herself. "Ass. It's a little bit more serious than that. I want you to go down to the X camp and talk to them. Try to warm them up to uniting all the transgenics instead of this great big wedge we have between 'nomlies and X series. We can't win this without everyone pitching in, you know that. I need you to do this for me; I can't trust anyone else with it."

Alec rubbed the back of his neck thoughtfully. She _trusted_ him with this? That was a new development… and, as much as he'd rather not admit it, it felt good. He grinned and placed a hand on her shoulder as he answered, "Alright, but I'll need some kind of reward when I come back. A whole camp of Xs… kinda dangerous."

"Yeah, because you wouldn't want to get your ass kicked again, would you?" She punched him on the shoulder, her demeanor suddenly becoming playful.

"I did not get my ass kicked! I told you guys, I was simply setting that Familiar girl up so that Logan could come to the rescue. Wonder boy _always_ comes to the rescue, dontcha know," mused Alec with a wink. "Wouldn't want to tarnish his record, now would I?"

Max smiled. "So I can count on you to not botch things up?"

"Always, Max. Why do you even have to ask?" he joked, putting on a feigned hurt face.

"Thank you, Alec… and here." She handed him some handcuffs. "Just in case you need them while you're over there."

Alec raised an eyebrow as he pocketed the cuffs. "Now why might a pretty girl like yourself being carrying around a pair of these?" he drawled in a country accent.

Max's eyes widened in shock and she thwapped him on the head. "Hey!"

"Ah! Ah! Save me!" cried the young man, ducking as she tried to hit him again. "Just a thought."

Max glared at him half-seriously, then softened and placed her hand on his forearm. "Good luck, Mr. Ambassador."

Alec chuckled in spite of himself as he replied, "Thanks. I'll need it."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Security has been tightened around the perimeter of Terminal City today after four transgenics rescued their five captured comrades from the temporary prison they had been held in. The police barricades have been placed back ten meters and even the press is not allowed closer than thirty meters from the edge of the perimeter. This action, however, has done nothing to suppress the protestors. In fact, it seems that the crowd has grown in the past few hours, the people angry that these transgenics slipped through so easily. Many of them have been saying that if action is not taken soon, the citizens of Seattle will have to take matters into their own hands."

Eddie, Pick, Hank, Junky, Axle, and about thirty other transgenics sat staring at the news reporter, Jan Corrigan, who had become their sole source of information about the world outside Terminal City. She was a familiar sight, with her too-red lipstick and uppity hairdo, and, though she was an Ordinary, the transgenics felt an inexplicable sense of camaraderie for the woman. Today she was interviewing a 'scientist' who had allegedly 'analyzed' the transgenics.

"So, Dr. Vantriez, tell me about what you have discovered," Jan said to the mousy-looking man sitting across from her.

"I have done extensive research, including gathering information from old Manticore associates," he replied slowly. "Through that process, I have been able to classify the different types of transgenics Manticore managed to create." He gestured a large piece of cardboard with different pictures pasted to the front, his pointer resting on a portrait of…

"Eddie, that's you!" exclaimed Hank, looking over at the girl, who was nestled in Pick's arms like a kitten.

Eddie's jaw went slack. It was a picture of her just a week before Manticore burned. She had just come in from an experimental training mission. Her hair was disheveled, a smear of blood across her cheek. Her cat eyes reflected the flash of the camera, making her entire eye seem an eerie blue-green color.

"This specimen can be referred to as an anomaly," continued Dr. Vantriez with a sniffle. "The definition for 'anomaly' in the dictionary is 'one that is peculiar, abnormal, irregular, or difficult to classify.' This describes these creatures perfectly. As you can see here, this female anomaly's features are based on that of a humans—the locations of the eyes, nose, mouth, and ears are correct—but the shapes are much different. Notice the vertical pupils, pointed ears, and angled facial contours.

"These anomalies are the disgrace of Manticore; the failures. They are like horrific scars on Manticore's records and most were kept hidden deep inside the basement. We have come across models that are meant to look the way they do for military reasons, such as camouflage. Yet the lot of them are deformed and useless beings that Manticore kept only to perform experiments on."

Pick tightened his hold around Eddie's waist as the girl began to shiver in his arms. "It's okay," he whispered in her ear. "That tight ass doesn't know anything. Don't listen to him. He's just saying what the public wants to hear." He affectionately brushed a thumb across her cheek and kissed her head.

"Tell us about the infamous Xs. They've developed quite a reputation around Seattle as sort of divine beings; superior to humans in all ways."

Dr. Vantriez pointed to a picture of an X6. "The X series are Manticore's most deadly units. They are trained as soldiers from day one. Each different X version was given a fraction of DNA from a different animal. I have concluded that the X5s were cats, X6s dogs, and the X7s bats and various hive-minded creatures. Evidence shows that they may have developed up to X9s, but for sure they have X8s, which are no more than children right now. The thing about these Xs is that they are indiscernible from humans and could be your next-door neighbors for all we know.

"Also, because I think the public should know, before the facility was destroyed ten months ago, Manticore began a breeding program to create new DNA for their latest X-series. Data recovered from the base provides an estimate of over one hundred transgenic babies born so far. These things are breeding, and there is nothing we can do to stop them. Military analysts believe that reproduction is most likely a battle strategy for them; they are increasing their numbers to better launch an assault or to weaken the enemy resolve. It's all about war for these creatures."

"Sniveling, inbred coward," muttered Hank angrily. "I'd like to show him a bit of war."

"Breeding these creatures is like trying to hybrid hybrids. We have no idea what the children will look like. They could, quite possibly, be hideous creatures of immeasurable power. The risk is even higher if we have anomalies and Xs mixing… the spawn of these two could have three arms or a tail! Even on a scientific level, it doesn't make any sense. Having anomalies and Xs mixing is akin to trying to cross a cat and a dog. It just isn't what nature intended."

"So you don't know exactly what to expect?" Jan tapped a pencil against her chin. 

She looked genuinely intrigued with what the doctor was saying, and that made the transgenics' hearts sink a little. If their fearless reporter Jan Corrigan herself was actually eating up all this jaded information, the public would be studying it like scripture—and that was bad. Everything on the television these days was filtered and buffered by the government. The truth, it seemed, was easy enough for them to squash and erase.

Dr. Vantriez sat back in his chair, his flabby stomach straining against his white Oxford shirt. "All I have to say is that these things are quite possibly the most deadly, disgusting, and horrific creatures on the Earth. We must get rid of them, whatever the cost."

"That's it." Axle turned off the TV with a slam of his hand. "I think we've seen enough for today." He ran a hand through his unruly mane and took a deep breath to calm his nerves.

The others nodded their silent agreement and dispersed to think about what they just saw. As if they didn't have enough on their minds already. Now some rodent-esque scientist was feeding the fire of public rage. He was encouraging the genocide of the transgenics. Hopelessness was settling in.

Hank patted Axle's shoulder in a brotherly manner. "You okay, man?" he asked quietly. "You know that guy's an asshole. Just let it go. We've all got to forget about it."

"But what if he's right?" muttered Axle before stalking away, his broad frame slouching with disappointment. He understood that the scientist was an asshole, but Hank didn't know what it was like to be a 'nomlie.

"It's sick, what they do," growled a transgenic with white skin and hair, fanning himself with a piece of paper. Arctic Ops. "I'd like to get my hands on one of them Ordinaries and see how much he has to say when I rip his teeth out. How much talk will be left in 'em then?"

Several other transgenics murmured their agreement.

"Hey!" yelled Pick, getting the Arctic transgenic's attention. "None of that," he insisted.

"How'd he find all that out?" a rat-like anomaly asked, whiskers twitching. "There's no way anyone would let out about Manticore, even though it's gone." He idly scratched his abnormally large ear.

"Probably used to be a backup scientist or someone on the outside," replied Pick without conviction. "Either that, or one of the old employees doesn't have a problem with being chopped into little pieces by Manticore 'associates' for ratting on them." He looked at the rat anomaly and grinned in spite of himself. "No offense."

"None taken."

Eddie clung to Pick's arm, her tail swishing back and forth languidly. Insecurity was written all of her face. Sticks and stones may break bones, but words were starting to hurt in this siege of the mind. She whispered, "You think it's true what they said?"

"What?" asked Pick, swinging his eyes around to his feline-faced partner.

"About the Xs and anomalies? About them being together?" she elaborated. Her eyes turned to the floor.

"Don't worry about it, baby," he said softly. He stroked her arm affectionately and placed a warm kiss to her full lips. "That asshole doesn't know shit."

They looked up as Max trotted towards them with a gentle smile upon her attractive face. "Hey, guys," she greeted quietly. "I never got the chance to say thanks for helping me out yesterday. So… thanks. You don't know how much it meant to me."

Pick grinned in return. "Glad for a little action." He mimicked a gun with his hand and mouthed, "Pow!"

Max swung her gaze between Pick to Eddie curiously. "If you don't mind me asking… are you two…?" She raised an eyebrow. "Together?"

"Yes, we are," replied Pick proudly, accentuating his point by kissing Eddie's temple. "Why do you ask?"

The X5 shrugged as she answered, "I just need to know these details. It's a girl thing." She laughed lightly. Though she had never before seen an X and 'nomlie in an intimate relationship, the two teens were without a doubt mad about each other, which was always good to see. They were a… cute couple. The X5 shook her head slightly; never thought she'd say that about a 'nomlie.

"What about you and Alec?" teased Eddie with a playful grin. "I saw you two talking earlier… winking, smiling, flirting. The sparks were flying."

Max's eyes widened. "Me and Alec? No! Where did you get that idea? No! Absolutely not!" she insisted, her cheeks flushing pink. Suddenly her tongue didn't work and her brain wasn't cooperating. At the incredulous expressions she received from the two teenagers, the X5 mumbled, "Well, maybe we're attracted to each other, but we'd never… it's just…" She groaned and threw her hands up in frustration. "Never mind. We're just… not like that."

Eddie and Pick's laughter followed the X5 as she hurried away, her face turning from pink to red at an alarming rate.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Alec unhurriedly approached the crumbling hotel that housed the majority of the X series in Terminal City. After a quick check of his hidden weapons, the X5 ascended the two or three steps of the stoop and dutifully knocked the door. Several seconds later, the door jerked open a few inches and two dark blue eyes peered out at him suspiciously. "What do you want?" asked a high-pitched, albeit acidic, voice.

"The name's Alec, though some may know me as X5-494," announced Alec, holding up his hands as a sign of peace. "I need to speak with the X leader here." He grinned and continued, in a mockingly robotic voice, "Bring me to your leader."

"What business do you have with him?" asked the door guard, all business.

"I have been instructed by Max Guevara, possibly known as X5-452, the leader of Terminal City, to give him an important message. I come bearing gifts," he replied as he pulled an empty candy wrapper from his pocket. "Please accept, young Padawan."

"There is no distinct leader of Terminal City, sir," spat the guard in a matter-of-factly-tone. "I can deliver the message for you." He didn't seem at all amused by Alec's antics.

Alec placed his foot in the door. "Unless you want me to call 452 down here, I suggest you let me inside. Peace man, peace." He held up two fingers.

There was a long silence before the door was reluctantly opened. Alec looked down at the young X8, who was glaring up at him threateningly. "Follow me," the kid instructed before turning and walking away.

"Kids today," mumbled the X5. "No respect."

The X8 continued to glare at him as he led Alec through a dark, broken hallway. They went up two flights of stairs to the third floor, where the X5 was surprised to Xs of every generation filling the corridor. As he and the small X8 walked down the passage, the Xs shot them curious glances, but didn't really pay much attention. Alec turned his eyes away from the grimy faces and tattered clothing. He felt more than a little shameful in his shiny leather jacket and designer jeans.

After a few more twists and turns and even some dirty looks, they came to a door that seemed in better condition than the rest. "This is the place," announced the younger X. "I must return to my post." With that, he swung on his heel and marched away.

"That kid has got to take a vacation," mumbled Alec as he opened the door. Inside, he found a relatively clean room; the floor was swept of debris and someone had attempted to cover the cracks in the walls by hanging some grimy paintings. For furniture, there was a rusting steel bed with a molded mattress and rotting desk. Sitting at the desk was a young man about Alec's age with golden hair and sharp green eyes.

"What do you want," he greeted impassively.

Alec took a few steps forward, his arms again raised as a gesture of peace. "I'm X5-494, sent by X5-452. I deliver a request of unity between the transgenics; the Xs and the anomalies most of all."

"Unity? Please. This isn't a Miss America Pageant, 494."

"Look, the Ordinaries are getting real impatient out there and sooner or later they're gonna snap and burn this place to the ground. Do you want that?" Alec reasoned with a frown. He pointed an accusing finger at the X. "You're digging your own grave here. What's that saying? United we stand, divided we fall. Hm? Remember that from Americana 101?"

"We Xs can take care of ourselves. The anomalies are the ones who the public hate, not us. You should know that very well, 494. After all, I can only assume you've spent some time with them."

"Okay, buddy, I don't have all day…"

"Call me 205."

Alec idly noted that 205 was one of the '09 Manticore escapees, but thought nothing more of it. "Okay, 205, I don't like your attitude about this whole thing, so I'm going to give you once last chance: You convince your X's to join the 'nomlies and I won't humiliate you by beating your ass into the concrete."

205 scoffed and sat forward in his ruined leather chair. "You are going to beat my ass into the concrete? That's a little dramatic, isn't it 494? Them's fighting words."

Alec stood up straight and adjusted the collar of his jacket, mentally preparing himself. "I'm serious about this, man. I'm not going to waste my time preaching to you. Yes or no."

The other X5 narrowed his piercing eyes. "No. The anomalies aren't our responsibility. Back off."

"Fine. Then I'll just have to kick your ass from your throne right here." Alec bent his knees and put his weight on the balls of his feet. "You wanted this the hard way."

"Are you challenging me, 494?" 205 asked in a bored tone. "I've already established my place as CO of the Xs here. You won't beat me."  
  


"Heard it a million times, buddy," growled Alec. He rolled his shoulders and clenched his fists. Here goes nothing, he thought.

205 rose from his seat and tossed the desk away like a twig. It exploded into shards of wood against the wall, busting a good-sized hole in the sheetrock. "Okay then. I've been waiting for some action around here."

They jumped at each other. In midair, Alec twisted around to avoid 205's flying fist, only to receive a kick to the head. He lashed out with his own leg as his body jerked toward the ground, catching 205 in the neck with the toe of his shoe. This all happened in about half a second, and the two men were practically blown apart by the impacts. 205 landed on the brass bed and Alec hit the floor with his shoulders, a grunt of pain leaving him as his neck folded unnaturally against the floor. The two men simultaneously leapt to their feet. 205 kicked out, but Alec caught his foot and twisted, forcing 205 to do a spin midair. On the ground, 205 kicked Alec's legs out from under him. Alec hit the ground face-first, his face stinging as the wood floor crunched under the impact.

"Now that… was not nice," growled Alec, brushing the splinters of wood from his face. "Don't mess with the face, man."

205 caught him in the chin with his foot, flipping Alec onto his back with a dull 'thud'. In a swift movement, he bent the steel bed over Alec as a makeshift cage. "Looks like you're caught," he sneered."

Alec glared up at him through the bars. "Cheater."

"Define fair."

"This!" Alec pulled his legs back and kicked with all his might. The cage rolled off of him and knocked over 205, pinning him to the ground by the legs and eliminating that form of escape for the X5.

"This won't hold me for long!" growled 205 as he attempted to wriggle his way free.

"Yeah, well I still beat you." Alec pulled out the handcuffs and attached 205's wrists to the frame at an odd, uncomfortable angle. "So there."

"I can call for help," reasoned 205, though his resolve was slipping by now. At the strange angle, it would take a lot of effort to pull himself free.

"I'm not finished," taunted Alec with a cunning grin. He pulled from his jacket pocket a roll of duct tape. "For you, milady." Enjoying himself immensely, the X5 stuffed a wad of tape into the X5's mouth, then taped his lips shut. "Don't you just hate how things work out like this?"

205 glared at him and shouted something through the tape. It sounded vaguely like he was calling Alec a son of a bitch, but it was hard to tell.

"Now, if you don't mind, I'll just be off convincing 'your' Xs that their CO is a dumbass and they should join with me. Have a nice day."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Meanwhile, Max was busily scribbling down what she needed Mole to find in the abandoned city. The paper she had found in a trash pile, and it suspiciously smelled of macaroni and cheese. The female X5 froze as she heard someone approach from behind. Taking a deep breath, the young woman tense her muscles, whirled around and raised her fist, ready to strike.

"Whoa! Calm down!" yelped Logan, backing away.

"Logan! Goddamn it, don't do that! What the hell are you thinking, sneaking up on people like that? I could've hit you!" Max exclaimed with a bit more anger than she had intended.

Logan turned his blue eyes to the ground. "Yeah… sorry. I wasn't thinking," he said quietly.

Max sighed and ran her fingers through her long hair. She was in dire need of a cut; her split ends were starting to form spit ends. With a shake of her head, she returned to the task at hand: "Logan, this place doesn't have miracle doctors or what the best medical equipment in the country like Shankar and Carr. If I touched you… You would die. And it'd be my fault, Logan. Mine."

"At least… I'd die a happy man," he replied softly.

The X5 took a tentative step back from him. She didn't particularly enjoy these hurtful conversations with him, but she was definitely being pulled into one. "Logan…"

"Max, no matter what happens, what you say, or what others say… I will never stop loving you. I guess you have that affect on lots of guys… Zack… me." He gave her with a rueful smile. "I just hope you are happy with the one you choose, whomever it may be… and he better take care of you, or he'll have hell to answer to."

"Don't do this, Logan," she whispered, her eyes downcast.

"Don't what? Don't speak the truth?" he growled. He raised a hand as if to touch her cheek, then shrank back with a defeated look on his face. "You want me to lie to you? Like you lied to me?"

Max took a moment to compose herself before replying, "No. I want you to forget about us. Until we find a cure, being together will only hurt…"

Logan, tears shining in his eyes, nodded. "I understand that. But what I said before still stands. I will never stop loving you. I may move on and take another wife, but you will always hold the better part of my heart, Maxie."

"And I hope that doesn't prevent you from finding the perfect wife and having perfect little kids," she replied with a wry grin. "You could be worlds happier without me, Logan, if you just give it a chance. I… I don't belong with you." Her chest ached with the words coming out of her mouth, but they had to be said.

The blonde man sighed and ran his fingers through his spiked hair. "Okay. Just keep telling yourself that… and if you're happy, I'll try to believe it too." He turned to walk away, passing by Dalton in the process.

"Hey, Logan, you look kinda pale," commented the young X6 without actually showing much interest in the man. "You getting sick?"

"What?" Logan faced the X6. "What did you say?"

"I said you look sick," reiterated Dalton coolly.

Max squinted at him and gulped. An irrational fear gripped her chest, that little voice at the back of her head going over the past few minutes to see if they had accidentally touched… but no, she could recall no such instances. Despite that, there was no doubt that Logan looked worse for wear. She bit her bottom lip. "Are you feeling okay?"

"I'm fine," he insisted stubbornly. "Just a bit of cold."

Dalton idly handed Max the giant bag of month-old jelly beans he had been munching on and walked over to the man. With trained serenity, he checked Logan's pulse and felt his forehead. "I don't exactly have a medical degree, but I know a sick guy when I see one." He took back his jelly beans and calmly went about his business as if nothing had happened.

Weird kid, thought Max distractedly. She returned her attention to Logan and her eyes widened with realization. "The toxins. Logan, you've been here too long!" She hit herself on the forehead with the palm of her hand. "I don't know why I didn't recognize it before. You've got to get out of the city!"

"Where am I gonna go, Max?!" he asked irritably. He held out his arms. "It's not like I can just stroll out there and go home!"

"Logan, you are not going to die here. Not now, not ever. I am getting you out of this place, whether you like it or not. There are still a few good souls out there. You can stay with Shankar or Sebastian or Carr… Anywhere but here," said the X5 with so much authority that Logan could do nothing but nod his head. "Now where's OC?"

"Over there," Logan pointed across the room, where Original Cindy was talking with Gem (who had suspiciously become very, very attached to the Nubian princess over the past few days) and playing with the baby.

"Alright… she looks fine… sort of… so where's Sketchy?" Max raised an eyebrow as she did a quick sweep of the area for her pothead friend. He was nowhere to be found, which could be two things: bad or worse.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Eddie, Pick, and a few other transgenics were sitting around a table playing cards and munching on their daily rations, which included a few pieces of bread, beef jerky, and canned vegetables. It wasn't exactly gourmet, but food was food and they were soldiers—there was no room for complaints.

"Royal flush," announced Pick, triumphantly placing his cards on the rotting table. He leaned back in his seat and laced his fingers behind his head. "Read 'em and weep."

The other transgenics groaned and handed over the smashed bottle caps that they were using as a form of money around TC. The older transgenics thought it was an absurd waste of time, but teenage transgenics had already set up mini markets that sold blankets foraged from the buildings, and sometimes extra rations. Collecting and smashing the caps was a good way to pass the time.

"How about that!" Pick exclaimed proudly as he dumped his winnings into a bag.

"Better watch out Ed," piped one of the transgenics, who looked much like a normal human besides the fact that he didn't have a nose. His voice was reminiscent of when someone spoke while holding their nostrils shut, but that was only to be expected. "Your boyfriend here seems like the gambling type."

Eddie smiled toothily, fangs glinting in the odd, flickering light of torches. "Don't worry. I'll deal with that later," she answered ominously.

The gathered transgenics all echoed 'ooh' and some punched Pick on the shoulder with claims of 'It'll be okay' and 'We know you'll make it out alive.'

"Ha, ha, very funny guys," he muttered, shooting an apologetic glance to his partner.

Eddie kissed him briefly and rose with a very feline stretch, her arms extending high above her head and her back arching like no Ordinary's could. Several transgenic eyes bugged out of their sockets as her shirt rose higher, exposing taut stomach muscles, and higher… She let her arms flop to her sides and looked around the table, noticing that some of her companions were unable to meet her eyes. "Any more takers?" she asked with raised eyebrows. "No one even wants to try to kick Pick's ass?" A long, silent pause. "Okay then! I'll just be buying myself a block of Terminal City, thank you very much."

The transgenics laughed and Eddie plopped back down into her seat.

"Well, I'm broke so I'm going to go be a poor little transgenic over there," announced the one without the nose bemusedly, pushing his chair out and departing. The others followed the suit with friendly goodbyes, leaving Eddie and Pick alone.

Eddie straddled Pick's lap and gave him a light kiss. "Love you."

"Love you too," he responded with a grin. He put his hands on her hips, enjoying the feeling of the warm flesh just beneath her jeans. "How about a kiss, kitty?" Leaning forward, he caught her balmy mouth with his.

They didn't get very much time for their kiss, however, because they were interrupted by someone clearing their throat loudly.

With a curse, Pick broke away from his girlfriend's lips and shot a glare in the direction of the intruder. It was that lanky, smelly friend of Max's. What was his name? Scooter? Skeeter? The X6 sighed irritably as Eddie removed herself from his lap. "What do you want?" snapped Pick with a death glare.

Sketchy, who was staring at the ceiling like it was the most interesting thing in the world, turned his attention to Pick, and then glanced behind him. "Me?"

"No, the other idiot who interrupted a private moment with my girlfriend," replied the X6, rolling his eyes.

"Ha, ha, that's funny… funny guy… yeah, that's…" Sketchy cleared his throat again and strolled over to their table. "So… what's up? Doing the transgenic thing?"

Pick and Eddie stared at him. Who was this guy?

Sketchy suddenly felt very uncomfortable with this situation. He tried not to think of all the horrible things the two transgenics could do to his body in a matter seconds… rip his head off… snap his neck… He chewed on his lip a bit as he contemplated what to say next.

"You never answered my question," the X6 reminded him, his voice harsh and callous.

"I—uh…" He shook his head and decided to throw the 'casual' approach out the window and get straight to the point. Transgenics seemed to like that. At least Max did. Okay, act like they're Max, he thought to himself. With a cough, he explained, "I wanted to see if I could interview you… ya know, just in case some large, popular news station asks me about what it was like in here? I've asked everyone else, and you two seem like nice kids…"

Pick sighed and pointed to a chair across from him. "Sit," he commanded, and Sketchy sat like his legs didn't work anymore. "Talk fast."

Sketchy pulled a notepad and pencil from his pocket, reading over the questions he had scribbled down before saying, "So what's it like?"  
  


"What's what like?" Eddie sighed in exasperation. The guy was slow, but undeniably good-natured.

"Being a transgenic; knowing that you were created in a lab."

Pick sat back in his chair and rubbed his face, occasionally glancing at Eddie, who was staring at Sketchy with a thoughtful look on her feline face. "Well…it's sort of like… It's like feeling normal, thinking normal, and for some of us even looking normal, but never actually being normal. We love, we hate. We live, we die. We have families, we have friends. The only thing that sets us apart is our appearance and/or the fact that we were created in test tubes."

"Uh huh…" Sketchy was scribbling things down like crazy. He gripped the pencil so tightly that his knuckles were turning whiter than usual.

"To be a transgenic is sort of a blessing and a curse at once," finished the X6 as he grasped his partner's hand.

Sketchy nodded and glanced at them, his eyes lighting up at the sight of their intertwined fingers. "Are you two together?" he asked, gesturing with his pencil. 

"Yes," replied Eddie with an adoring look at her boyfriend.

"Ooh… this is good. This is real good," mumbled Sketchy, flipping through a few pages in his notebook. "So what's it like to be two young transgenics caught between a rock and a very hard place?"

Eddie rested her head on Pick's shoulder. "It's the same as if we were Ordinaries under siege. We have no clue what's going to happen, no idea if we both will live through this, and no doubt that things will get worse before they get better. I mean, it's not like just because we are transgenics that we can tell the future or anything," she answered with a shrug.

"There are a lot of questions surrounding the breeding of transgenics. Could you tell us about it?"

Pick glared at him. "First of all, we don't like it being referred to as 'breeding', 'mating', or anything like that. Second of all, I don't think the public needs me to explain where babies come from. And finally, it's no different than Ordinaries hooking up, getting married, and having families. You people need to get it through your thick heads: We are not aliens, we are not monsters, and we are not animals!" he growled, his words growing louder and angrier as they spilled from his lips.

Sketchy nodded nervously. His hands were beginning to shake now. "You know, people have a real stereotyped image of transgenics. Is there anything you'd like to say to them? Anything that is on your mind?"

The X6 let out a breath to calm himself. "Now you sound like a reporter," replied Pick composedly. He took a moment to compile the words for his response. "If I could say anything to those Ordinaries out there, I'd tell them that if they'd give us half a chance, they'd see that we're no more than they are. All we ask is a normal life… or as normal as possible. That's all we need."

"That was good. That was really good," claimed Sketchy excitedly as he stored his pad and pencil in his pockets. "Thanks, man. Everyone else tried to bite my head off when I asked, and the Sketch-meister has had his fair share of beatings."

Pick nodded his response and shook Sketchy's hand in a brotherly fashion.

"Sketchy!" bellowed a voice.

The three turned to see Max running towards them, arms waving wildly. "Sketchy, you've gotta come with me," she said, grabbing his forearm. "We have got to get you, Logan, and OC out of here ASAP."

"Why?" asked the young man, his heart dropping. "I was just making friends…"

Max started dragging him away. "Because we've kept you in here long enough. Logan is sick, OC is borderline sick, and you're probably not far behind. We're coming up with a plan to get you out of the city, okay? I really need you to cooperate with me, Sketch."

"Where am I gonna go?" he asked, eyes wide.

Max gave him a desperate expression. "You don't wanna know…"

"Why?" Sketchy stopped walking, but tumbled forward when Max pointedly jerked on his arm. "Where are you sending me?"

"There are only so many good people left in Seattle…"

"Max…"

"…and we thought you might be more comfortable with someone you know…"

"Max…"

"…so you're going to stay with Normal."

Sketchy smacked his free hand to his forehead. "No way! No way, man!"

Max stopped walking and her wrist flew back as if she was going to hit him. He immediately shrank back. "Do we have an understanding?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"Good. Now come on, and don't complain. Normal's doing a big thing, taking you guys in." The X5 patted him on the head. "Besides, you need some bond time with the guy. That'll get his attention away from Alec."

"Not funny, Max."

But Max didn't stop laughing until they reached Logan and OC.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


	3. Turn it Up

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters in this story that appear in the hit syndicated TV show, Dark Angel, owned and created by James Cameron. I do, however, own any and all original characters that appear in this work of fan fiction. 

Lyrics property of Missy Elliot from her song "Hot Boyz." This song was featured on the episode "Meow."

The Siege 

****

by

Brin 

"I've got people looking to either put me in a cage for the rest of my life, turn me into a science project, or kill me. Probably all three." –Max

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It's gonna be hard business, getting those three out of TC. Pulling it off could mean the last breach of security we'll be able to manage; I imagine the government will be fuming if word gets out that a coupla Ordinaries escaped Terminal City. Oh well. That's a risk we'll have to take, because I'm not sure they were up for negotiations anyway. Hopefully we can dupe them one last time.

**Chapter 3: Turn it Up**

Max gave each of her friends a once-over, arms crossed over her chest. It was really pathetic, but that wasn't something they would like hearing, so she didn't say it—out loud, anyway. "You look genuine enough," she mumbled, adjusting Sketchy's Kevlar vest. It was way too broad on his lanky frame, but about five inches too short. He looked like a little kid who'd stretched his favorite t-shirt. It had been a stroke of dumb luck that the uniforms from the Phalanx were still available; hadn't been sold or ripped up or burned. So now OC, Logan, and Sketchy stood once again disguised in the heavy black suits that had gotten them out of Jam Pony.

"Haven't we tried this already?" complained Sketchy, tugging at his too-small helmet. "It didn't exactly work last time. They came after us."

"That was expected, Sketch," replied the X5 as she stuffed a ten-dollar-bill into his palm. "Now, Normal should arrive with transportation soon after you get there, so try not to be nervous."

"Yeah, but won't it look suspicious if three popos just saunter out of the city like we down with the transgenics in here?" asked OC, frowning.

Max grinned and looped an arm around her friend's slim shoulders. "Well, Original Cindy, that's where the real fun starts," she explained smugly.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Eddie glared daggers at Max. "You so owe me," hissed the 'nomlie.

"I owe a lot of people a lot of stuff. Get in line," replied Max listlessly. She smirked.

"If I get killed, Pick is gonna kill you," continued the anomaly without missing a beat. "That is, after Axle, Junky, and Hank take turns hanging you from different body parts from a light post."

Max laughed and patted her on the head. "Nice kitty."

Baring her fangs, Eddie hissed at the X5—a real feline hiss, not just mimicking the sound. Logan and Sketchy took several steps back.

"You guys, this is not gonna be that hard. There is no crowd on this side of the blockade because the press doesn't have enough people to spread around the entire perimeter," explained Max coolly. She ripped a long strip of cloth from a blanket and used it to 'gag' Eddie. "Don't bite through it."

Eddie continued to glare at her. "Vrrmm rrur mmmum!"

"Sorry, come again?" teased Max, tying Eddie's hands together with a piece of rope, then her ankles. "Don't worry about these knots. They'll come right out if you squirm enough, but be careful about that." She stepped back to admire her work. "Yep, you look like an honorary captive."

"Is it just me, or does sister girl look like she wants to scratch yo' pretty brown eyeballs out?" asked OC nervously.

"Nah. She loves me too much," joked the X5, pinching Eddie's cheek. "Okay, so you guys ready?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Colonel Mattes!"

Colonel David Mattes looked up from his conversation with a wayward subordinate when he heard his name being yelled. "Yes?" he replied cautiously, his eyes swiveling around to locate the caller.

"I'm um… Special Agent… Dimmesdale."

The colonel turned his attention Terminal City, realizing that that was where the voice was coming from. No… it couldn't be. No one was to go inside TC, for health and safety reasons. "Are you in there?" he asked doubtfully.

"Yes. Me and my… helpers were on a… secret mission. Very secret. Can't… say anything much. We have here with us a subdued transgenic who needs to be taken… away for… testing."

Colonel Mattes looked at his comrades, who shrugged, but readied their weapons. "Okay, then. Bring it out. If it gets too wild, we'll have to take it out." The guardsmen got into position as four figures emerged from Terminal City. Three national guards and a limp transgenic bound hand and foot.

"How did you do that?" asked the colonel, staring at the transgenic.

"Well," said 'Dimmesdale', "It wasn't easy; I'll tell you that much. This little kitty put up a good fight." He adjusted his goggles. "Now, if you don't mind, we have to get her into a secure area ASAP."

Colonel Mattes stopped him. "Wait. I've never heard of a Special Agent Dimmesdale working in the TC area. Can I see your badge?"

'Dimmesdale' glanced to his two companions, then dug around in his pockets. "Yeah, right here." He pulled out his badge and grinned uneasily.

"There's no ID with this," announced Mattes suspiciously. "I'll need to see your ID. We had a little trouble with transgenics tricking us earlier and we need to take extra precautions." He narrowed his eyes. "You a trannie?"

"Um…" 'Dimmesdale' bit his lip. "Well…"

Suddenly, the restrained transgenic's head snapped up and she glared at Mattes, her body trying to wriggle free of her restraints. Several soldiers shifted positions so that they had a mark on the thing and wouldn't hit the Colonel.

"Whoa! You'll need to step back, Colonel. We need to get this transgenic away from this place ASAP. She could be a biohazard." 'Dimmesdale' stepped past the barricade, dragging the transgenic with him. "Thank you for your time, Colonel. I'll be sure to put in a good word for you." And with that, they turned the corner.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Original Cindy hurried to help Eddie untie herself while Logan, aka Special Agent Dimmesdale stood watch. Sketchy took off his helmet and let out a quiet whoop of triumph. "Hell yeah! Take that!" he cheered inaudibly.

"You don't belong in these, girl," OC said, untying the gag. "Ain't no reason these people should accept treating ya'll like this." She smiled gently.

Eddie slipped off the ropes around her wrists and ankles. "If only _they_ believed that," she replied, referring to the National Guard. She grabbed OC's handgun from its holster. "Will you miss this?"

"I think you be needing it more than me," replied Cindy. She pulled Eddie to her feet. "You got this?"

"Damn straight," Eddie smirked and loaded a clip into the gun. "You guys gonna make it alright by yourselves?'"

Logan chuckled. "Yeah. Normal should be here soon."

"I don't know how I am gonna live," growled OC, crossing her arms indignantly. "The guy worships Alec as a pastime."

"Normal is our best bet," said Logan patiently, though he didn't look entirely thrilled with the idea either.

"Hey, what about me?" whined Sketchy. "I have a place."

"Yeah, which hasn't had water or phone connection for over a year," snapped Cindy, rolling her eyes at him. "Which is understandable, since you spend most of your time sponging meals off your girlfriends anyway."

Eddie laughed and shook her head. "Do you need me to stay with you until your ride comes?" she asked, getting down to business.

Logan shook his head. "We'll be okay. You better get back before your boyfriend goes ballistic on Max." He clapped her on the shoulder.

The young anomaly smiled and, for reasons unknown to herself, gave OC and Sketchy a hug. With a rueful glance over her shoulder, she leapt up the fire escape of a nearby building and disappeared onto the roof.

"Whoa," murmured Sketchy as they watched her go. "She really is part cat."

"Damn, I wish I could do that," stated OC with a shake of her head, curls bouncing. "I don't think even Max is _that_ feline."

The three humans jumped in surprise as a gray van turned down the ally and sped towards them. They quickly moved out of the way and the vehicle screeched to a halt a few feet away, the smell of burning rubber assaulting their senses.

"You looking for a ride?" asked Normal, poking his head out. "'Cause I have a ride here, by order of Missy Miss."

"I wish I wasn't," muttered OC under her breath.

"Get in the van, you ungrateful," he replied. "Bip!"

Logan and OC quickly got in, but Sketchy spared one more glance towards the top of the building. Eddie now stood at the edge, watching over them. It was a very movie-esque image, with her hair waving in the wind and her eyes glinting in the afternoon light.

"You know, I think this is the start of something the world has never seen," announced Sketchy, wiggling his fingers at the anomaly. "Because if all of these people are like Max, maybe… Seattle isn't such a bad place to live anymore." He smiled and slowly got into the van.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Eddie walked away as the vehicle drove off. She crept to the other edge of the building and found five snipers posted there. Two of them were taking a break but the other three were laying on their stomachs, focusing intently on the city below.

"And just when I thought I could get outta here without a bullet added to my skeleton," mumbled the transgenic irritably. Crouching low, she was devising a plan to sneak past them when she heard footsteps behind her. Turning, the transgenic spotted a sixth soldier coming at her. He had his AK47 pointed at her chest. Irrationally, she leapt to her feet.

"Stop! Get down on the ground, get down on the ground!" he ordered. When she didn't respond, he repeated, "Get on the ground with your hands on your head! Do it now! I'm not fucking with you!"

Eddie sighed and put her hands on the top of her head, slowly sinking to her knees "You're making a big mistake, officer."

The soldier moved forward. "Do it _now_!" he yelled in that disconcerting military bellow. By now the other five snipers had been alerted to the situation. Three of them trotted over to help, stationing themselves behind Eddie in case she tried anything.

"I'm serious, officer. This is a big mistake. If you capture me, every transgenic in the city will retaliate. They'll find you, hang you by your eyeballs, and go about their merry way," she warned. She had always considered herself good at bluffing… and hoped to whoever the hell would listen that she didn't cave under the pressure.

"Shut up! _Shut up!"_ shouted the soldier in front of her. He picked up a metal bar from the ground and put down his gun. "We'll see how you like this, trannie."

Eddie visibly quavered, but quickly recovered. "Oh come now. Just because I'm only half human doesn't mean I don't have rights, does it? You don't really believe that, do you?" she asked, but her voice was breaking. She didn't like that look in his eye…

"I said shut up!" Pulling his arm back, he hit her full-force on the arm. A sharp intake of breath was the only response he got out of the transgenic. This seemed to fuel his unprovoked fury. He struck her again, this time on the cheek.

The young 'nomlie saw colors as the metal walloped her, accompanied by a burst of pure agony. She went reeling to one side, limbs flailing helplessly. If she were an Ordinary, the blow surely would've knocked her brains out—but she wasn't, so she lived to suffer the consequences. A few inches higher and she surely would've had some subsequent brain damage. As it were, she would probably end up with a mild concussion—but that was for worrying about _after_ escaping apparent and almost certain death.

"How do you like that, huh? Fuckin' trannie," barked the soldier. He grabbed a handful of her hair and lifted her head to face him. "Hm?"

A smirk crossed the transgenic's lips. "Blow me."

Taken back, the soldier didn't have time to process his next course of action. Eddie soared into the air just as the idiotic soldiers behind her opened fire, riddling their comrade with bullets. The transgenic came down behind them and, as they stood in shock at what they had done, knocked them all out. The remaining two snipers turned and started shooting, but Eddie barreled to the edge of the roof at top speed and hurled herself into the open air.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Max stared in shock as Eddie, arms held out, did a perfect swan dive from the top of a five-story building, bullets following her down. "Shit!" she cursed, frantically looking around for something useful to do. When she found nothing, the X5 looked up hopelessly as the 'nomlie plummeted.

Eddie tucked her head and pulled her torso back, causing her shoulders to strike the ground first. On impact, she threw her body forward again, rolling a few times before coming to lie flat on the ground, face-down.

"Don't be dead, don't be dead," Max cried as she ran over. She dragged the girl into a nearby TC building—out of range of the snipers. "Eddie? Eddie!" She raised her hand to slap the seemingly unconscious girl, only to have Eddie's voice make her arm stop mid-descent.

"Don't you dare hit me," growled the anomaly, eyes remaining closed.

"You're alive! What the hell were you thinking?" Max put a hand to her chest. Her heart was going a mile a minute.

"My shoulders and arms have been dislocated," mumbled Eddie, ignoring Max's rage.

The X5 involuntarily cringed. She had had her arm dislocated from its socket once. Not a pleasant experience, and it had left her feeling sore for days and days." Taking contortion to a whole new level?" she joked.

"Yep… Now, if you don't mind, I'd like to be back in one piece."

"By all means, go ahead," mused Max. "But be careful."

Eddie closed her eyes in concentration.

Max watched, amazed, as Eddie pulled herself back together. It looked like some invisible person was pushing the bones back into place, but in reality Eddie's muscles were contracting and relaxing, moving the bones slowly back into their sockets. She replaced first her arms, then her shoulders, and sat up. Manticore had taught this trick to its newer trainees as a way to escape from almost any kind of binding, from handcuffs to metal chains.

"Ow," groaned the young transgenic, rolling her arms and popping her fingers. "I'm going to regret that in the morning."

"Anything broken?" asked Max, biting her lip. "You're bleeding."

Eddie touched a hand to her bruised cheek. It came away dripping with crimson blood. "Yeah, you could say that."

"Let's get you to a med center." Max helped the 'nomlie to her feet, slinging the girl's arm around her shoulders. "What happened up there?"

"Guy had me at the end of AK47's. It was either this or bullets," explained Eddie exhaustedly. "Also had a close encounter with a soldier's rod."

Max laughed at the many meanings of that statement, and Eddie was chuckling right along with her.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Pick was tapping his foot and drumming his fingers impatiently when he heard Eddie's laugh carry into the room. His head shot up to see her entering the parking garage with a large bandage on her cheek and an ice pack held to her upper arm.

"There's your kitty cat," a transhuman Pick was playing cards with said, his voice teasing. "You really should put a collar on her in case she runs away."

Pick flipped him off and ran over to greet her. "Eddie!" he called, getting her attention.

Max stopped walking, allowing Eddie to meet her boyfriend halfway in a tight embrace. He spun her around and then proceeded to hold her like a baby.

"You're hurt," he whispered, brushing a thumb over her uninjured cheek. "Are you okay, kitty?"

"I'm fine. You should see the guys I beat up," joked Eddie as she draped her arms around his neck. "Kiss and make it better?"

Pick laughed and nuzzled her collar bone. "Of course."

Meanwhile, Max looked on with a peaceful smile on her face. These two _really_ were the poster children for a perfect couple.

"It's strange," Alec began as he came to stand next to Max. "You'd never know what they are capable of by just looking at them. They seem like normal kids."

"They _are_ normal kids," mumbled Max, mostly to herself. She flipped her hair as she turned her attention to him. "Did you reach the Xs?"

"Yep. Had to kick some ass, but it worked out alright," he replied coolly. "They're reluctant, but have agreed to 'provide their total cooperation for anything you might request of them'."

She turned to face him and frowned. He looked like crap. "You're hurt."

Alec shrugged indifferently. "Nothing serious."

Max gingerly touched one of the splinters in his face. "We're going to have to get that taken care of so you don't get an infection. Come on." She grabbed his hand and led him towards the makeshift med center.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Hold still."

"But it hurts."

"I don't care. Hold still."

"Ow!"

"You big baby."

"Am not."

"Are too."

"Am not."

"Are you gonna cry?"

"No."

"I think you are."

"Shut up."

Max laughed and patted Alec on the head. "I have to get these splinters out," she insisted with a roll of her eyes.

Alec stuck out his bottom lip. "But there's like a bazillion of them."

"No, there's only about ten, and if we don't take them out their your face will get infected and fall off," she said pointedly as she pulled a sliver of wood from his cheek with the tweezers. "So you need to just sit still and deal with it. Last I checked, X5s didn't whine about splinters."

"But I just _love_ annoying you," he replied with a rakish grin.

Max gulped and felt her face growing hot. She responded, "Well, it's working." As she pulled a particularly large splinter from his face, she could see him visibly tense. "Sorry."

"Oh, so _now_ you're being sympathetic," grumbled the male X5 with a sniff. "What, the guilt too much for you?"

"Do you want someone else to do this? Because I—"

"No, I'll stop," Alec interrupted. He smiled and didn't so much as make another peep about it—proving that he was just yanking her chain the whole time.

Max bit her lip nervously as she moved her hand down to his lips, which had one or two splinters. She could feel Alec's intake of breath as her slender fingers gently brushed his lips. Quickly, the female X5 pulled out the two tiny pieces of wood and checked the rest of his face. "Only a few more," she whispered, feeling her face heat up again. When she was done, Max pulled out a bottle of hydrogen peroxide. "This might sting a bit," she stated, pouring some of the liquid onto a cotton ball.

Alec shrank back as she touched his face. "Yeah, just a bit," he joked, trying to beak the tension.

Max quickly cleaned his wounds and applied a small bandage here and there, then checked him over. "There. All done. You want anything for the pain?"

"I don't think we have anything like that, but you know most people seem to think a kiss will make everything better," mused Alec. He immediately clamped his jaw shut after he realized what he had just suggested. "I—I mean…"

Max smiled as he flushed red. It was about time he got beaten at his own game. She stood up. "I better go see if Mole has found anything useful… See you later." Trying unsuccessfully not to look too eager to get away from him, she hurried off.

"Yeah. See ya." Alec half-heartedly waved his hand. When she was out of earshot, he sighed disgustedly and muttered, "That was lame, Alec. Good job."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Max was checking around for Mole when she noticed something amiss. It seemed that the place was emptier than usual. The constant, indistinct chatter from the many groups of transgenics that normally hung around this area was all but nonexistent. A few young men ran past her, their faces alarmed. This heightened her suspicions and she picked up her pace. Several more men ran past.

"Mole!" shouted the X5, looking around. "Mole, where are you?" Before she could say anything else, someone barreled into her at full-speed, knocking them both to the ground. "What the hell?! Watch it, asshole!" she yelled angrily as she sat up. She was surprised to see Joshua, staring at her with a terrified face. "Joshua? What's the matter? What is everyone running from?"

Joshua jumped to his feet and began to edge away. "F-f-females! Lots of them! Must run! Joshua must go!" His voice quavered with obvious horror—but why?

Max grabbed his arm. "What are you talking about?"

"Ah-ah-ah, cat DNA. Females want to get busy with Joshua! Joshua must go!" He wrenched his arm free and took off like Satan himself was on his heels.

Max thought about what he had said for a moment, then her eyes widened in horror. "Oh no… no, no, no, no… they're in heat…" She dragged her hand down her face in exasperation. "This is so not good."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Pick could smell an insane amount of pheromones coming off Eddie as they walked through Terminal City, hand-in-hand. In fact, the smell seemed to be coming from everywhere. She was looking at him funny, too… sort of drunken and dazed. Her face was flushed and her palms sweaty.

"Are you alright?" he asked, getting nervous. There were only so many things that could make a female's pheromones increase…

"Have I ever told you how hot you are? I mean, Junky and Hank are okay, but you are absolutely _gorgeous_," she said, moving closer to him.

_Where you_ _live_?__

_Is it by yourself_?__

_Can I move wit_'_ you_?__

_Do you need some help_?__

_I cook boy_

_I'll give you more_

_I'm a fly girl_

"Um…" Pick stopped walking as she started running her hands up his chest. "Eddie, I think we need to separate?"

"Mm… fine, hot boy," she whispered, moving her hands from his chest to his biceps. She squeezed lightly and giggled. "Mmm… muscles. I _love_ your muscles, Pick. I love to…" Practically throwing herself forward, she licked the side of his face.

And I like those 

_Hot boys_

_Baby you got_

_What_ _I want_

_See ya'll be driving_

_Lexus, Jeeps, and the Benz_

_Hot boys_

_Baby you got_

_What I want_

_See _'_cause ya_'_ll be driving_

_Jaguars and the Bentleys_

_And the Rolls_-_Royce_

_Playing hardballs_

_With the platinum Visa_

Pick gently pushed her away as her lips found the base of his neck. "Eddie, this is not something we wanna do when you're in heat," he warned, though he could feel his own resolve slipping.

"But you're soooo sexy," she protested, lifting herself up to wrap her legs around hs waist. "Mmm…" She covered his mouth with hers and they fell against the wall of the nearest building.

Pick tried to resist, knowing that having sex with a female in heat could only end in pregnancy, but the scent that she was giving off was paralyzing and his body was rendered useless. He couldn't help but kiss her back with genuine passion, his hands coming to rest on her hips.

_Is that_ _your_ _car_,__

_The SKA_?__

_Are you riding alone_?

_Can I be your date_?__

_Come get me_

_Get me_

_Don_'_t diss me_

_Don_'_t trick me_

Eddie had almost succeeded in pulling Pick's shirt off when she was abruptly pulled off of him and punched square in the face—thoroughly bruising what used to be her uninjured cheek. In a daze, Pick could only watch as the girl he loved fell to the ground like deadweight.

"And that is what you get for being a bad little kitty," Max scolded, flexing her bruised hand. She slapped Pick a few times. "Wake up, sunshine."

Pick could still smell Eddie's pheromones and he tried to get to her, but Max held him back with a wrist to his neck. "Let me go," he protested furiously.

"Don't make me knock you out, too," warned the X5. She slapped him again and it seemed to do the trick.

"Shit. Shit, Max, I'm sorry," he apologized.

"Like you could help it. I need you to go and hide in the parking garage until it's safe; Eddie's not the only one in heat."

"How come this is happening to them all at once?"

Max shrugged and sighed. "Beats me. The universe has a sense of humor."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Max, Brin, Syl, and a few other able females scoured Terminal City that night, knocking out every female who had the slightest scent of pheromones on them. Unfortunately, in some cases they were too late and the fate of several males had been sealed. Whenever they came across males they advised them to run to the parking garage on the south side of Terminal City where all the males were hiding out until it was safe to come out.

By the next morning they were exhausted, but Max was painfully aware of a new problem and had no time to rest. She was growing flushed and felt… hot. This realization came about at the worst of times, since the others had turned in, and she was left alone. All alone… with several hundred males.

"Not good, not good, not good," she repeated to herself, looking for a place to lock herself in. Unfortunately, it was highly improbably that any of TC's rotting buildings could provide enough strength to keep an X5 inside.

And then… disaster struck.

"Hey, Max."

Max turned around to see Alec leaning against a wall, grinning that adorable little grin at her, his sexy arms crossed over his muscular chest… She mentally slapped herself. "A-Alec… you need to go. You need to go, now!"

Alec raised an eyebrow. "Why?"

"I-I-I-I…" Max stuttered, quickly losing control. She couldn't bring herself to say it, for one reason or another. "You have to go."

"But I just got here," he mused, pushing himself off the wall and walking towards her.

"You don't understand! I'm in heat!" She tried not to look at the crotch of his pants.

Alec abruptly stopped walking. As if on cue, he smelled the pheromones coming off her, carried by the wind. "Not good. I'll just be off."

Max approached him like a cat stalking its prey. "Mmm… Alec… _run_," she insisted, her mouth seemingly the only part of her body she had control of.

"I—uh, yeah… I should be doing that…" he mumbled, but didn't move.

I got some friends 

_Can they come_ _too_?__

_Can you hook them up_

_With some boys like you_?

_A hot boy_

_A rock boy_

_On top boy_

_And I like those_

_Hot boys_

Max continued to come towards him until she was mere inches away. She gulped and pressed her hands on his chest, smiling at the feel of his taut muscles. His large hands found her hips and they leaned close.

"Alec… you need to go…" she whispered, pulling back from him as she regained control of her body. "Go!" Even as she said it, though, they were leaning closer, closer… "Look, I said go!" she cried, louder this time.

The male X5 sighed and began to move away, though very, very slowly.

Max sat down on the curb and held her head in her hands. "Control, Maxie. Control…" Her body betrayed her, however, and she jumped up to chase him. But before she could take off, there was a soft 'pop' and she slumped to the ground, out cold.

"Been savin' that just for you, Missy. You're lucky I wasn't standing downwind or you would be in big trouble," Mole lectured, coming to stand above her. He loaded another dart into his tranquilizer gun. "And you said I wouldn't need these. Sheesh."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


	4. Back

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters in this story that appear in the hit syndicated TV show, Dark Angel, owned and created by James Cameron. I do, however, own any and all original characters that appear in this work of fan fiction.

Summary: The transgenics have accepted their surroundings and start making Terminal City into their new home. Max discovers something about herself… with the help of her favorite siblings, of course. Meanwhile, a threat that everyone thought destroyed is back… with a vengeance.

The Siege 

By

Brin 

"Did you look in the yellow pages under "black helicopter operations?" – Zack

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

_They say the drunk mind speaks what the_ _sober_ _mind is_ _too afraid to say_… _well if that_'_s the case, then does the in_-_heat body do what the normal body is too afraid too? Do I secretly want to jump Alec_?_ It's a scary thought_…_ okay, perhaps not so scary. But maybe that's just the heat talking back to me._

**Chapter 4: Back**

"MAX!"

Max didn't know what was happening. She was frozen where she stood, her body rigid as a board. It seemed as if she was in the middle of a giant movie. The scene moved more slowly than normal… as if everything were playing in slow motion. Around her were all the makings of war—fire everywhere, bodies littering the ground, thick smoke rising up in ominous black columns, people running and screaming, ammunition slicing through the air. A bomb exploded a little too close for comfort, sending bodies flying. Her eyes swiveled around in their sockets as she realized the identities of the bodies… transgenics. All of them, transgenics!

Joshua and Hank lay dead a few feet away, their bodies riddled with bullets. Not far away from them, Junky crawled across the ground towards the two, his entire left side burned black. Axle ran past her wielding a gun, but was shot down before he could level it to take a shot. Men dressed in black uniforms marched through the area, finishing off Junky with a quick blow to the head. Several people in white lab coats came through and gathered the bodies.

"NO! MAX!"

Max looked around for the owner of the screaming voice. She spotted Krit, Zack, Brin, and Syl being led away by the men in those hauntingly familiar black uniforms. Several young X8s were chased into a corner and covered with a heavy-duty net. The soldiers proceeded to tie them up like cattle, using electric wands to shock the Xs into compliance. She heard a desperate shouting and turned to see Pick fending off the men trying to get Eddie, who lay paralyzed on the ground. After a few seconds of fighting the enraged X6, they raised their guns and shot them both. Pick slumped over his beloved, their blood pooling together.

"MAX!"

Finally, Max's eyes settled upon the one yelling her name… Alec. He was being led away by three of the uniformed men, his hands handcuffed and his ankles shackled together. Blood dribbled from his temple, his busted lip, his shoulder, and the bullet hole in his side. He struggled against his bounds, shouting Max's name desperately.

"MAX!" he yelled.

One of the soldiers, fed-up with his ranting, pulled off his helmet and goggles, drawing a handgun. It was White.

Max's eyes widened in horror and she tried to run to help Alec, but her body was rendered useless and she could do nothing but watch the scene play out before her.

Alec stopped struggling and pinned her with a sorrowful gaze as the soldiers forced him to his knees and put the cold steel barrel of the gun between his eyes. He opened his mouth to say something, but never got the chance…

White smirked. "Take the shot."

BAM!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Max bolted upright, panting, sweating, screaming. She dragged her hand down her face and looked around to find herself in an over-stuffed bed, covered with a thick woolen blanket, not in a war zone. A fire crackled in the brick fireplace that stood a few feet away, lighting the room with a homey sort of glow instead of the flaming buildings from before. She sat up and looked around through blurry eyes. "It was a dream… all a dream… oh shit…" she panted, lying back down and throwing an arm over her eyes.

The door squeaked open, causing Max to jump in surprise and tense, ready for battle. She relaxed, however, when the familiar form of Alec slipped in. He quietly closed the door behind him and turned around. A smile broke over his face as he realized she was finally awake. "Welcome back to planet earth," he greeted, saluting. "I come in peace."

"Where… where are we?" asked Max, gulping down the lump in her throat. This was an odd situation, if you read into it enough. She was waking up to Alec… and, admittedly, it felt kind of nice. She smiled.

Alec moved closer to her. "Well, you'd be awfully surprised what Ordinaries leave behind when they're running for their lives from a toxic spill. We are inside what used to be an old apartment building."

"I'm impressed," Max said, whistling appreciatively. "How'd you find this place? And how did I get here?"

"Mole decided to take matters into his own hands and shot you with enough tranquilizer to knock you out for a day… which is enough to take down a male hippopotamus, but that's just details." He sat next to her, grinning. "I came back and found you lying in the middle of the street, curled up like a kitten. Then I brought you inside the nearest building—this one—and who would've guessed? A fireplace full of wood, a feather bed with woolen covers, and a rocking chair. Nice, ain't it?"

Max laughed and pinned him with a suspicious stare. "Are you lying to me?"

Alec chuckled. "Yes."

"Then what's the truth?"

"The truth is that I carried you from one end of Terminal City to the other checking all the buildings until I found the only one that would suit you—this one," he answered quietly. He then began to twiddle his thumbs, waiting for her reaction.

Max's jaw moved up and down soundlessly for a minute, then she finally managed: "I-I-I… I wasn't expecting that." She licked her lips nervously. "Thank you."

Alec let out the breath that he had unconsciously been holding. "You're welcome." He pulled a little white package from his pocket and tossed it to her. "Got something for ya."

Max caught the package and opened it. "How in the hell did you get your hands on one of these?" she asked, laughing as she pulled a perfect Hostess cupcake from the bag.

"I had to gamble away some rations, but I know you like 'em so…," he replied with a shrug, looking like a bashful schoolboy.

"Alec… I'm going to have to pay you back for this. Why're you being so nice all of a sudden?" she asked, taking a big, over-dramatic bite of her cupcake.

"Do I have to have a reason?"

"I dunno… it's just… you've been different lately," she replied with a shrug. "I mean, since I first met you you've been this sort of wild child… but you've toned down. A lot. I haven't seen you go after a girl in weeks. Why the change?"

Alec tapped his foot nervously. "Well, I just… I just thought that, you know, in light of the situation it wouldn't be proper to run around hitting on every X in the city."

"Really?" Max narrowed her eyes at him incredulously. "And what situation would that be?"

"You want the truth?"

"That would be nice."

"The straight truth?"

"Straight."

Alec sat on the edge of the bed. Max scooted over and he pulled both legs onto the feathery bed, resting his upper body against the headboard. "Well… I seem to have fallen for this girl… and I have to be cautious because this girl seems to already have a love in her life."

Max experienced a sinking feeling in her stomach. "You've fallen in love?" she asked, her voice nearly breaking. "Tell me about this girl."

He smiled. "She's incredible. And I haven't even had sex with her." His eyes twinkled mischievously as he stared into the fire. "I mean, she has this way with people… When she says 'jump,' they jump and they like it. And when you look into her eyes, it's like everything wrong in the world—the Pulse, Manticore, anything—just sort of fades away into the distance." Slowly, he turned his head and checked her face for any emotion, but she showed none so he continued, "Once I was a total asshole, not a care in the world. I didn't care if I walked outside and got shot or if I pissed off all of America. Then _she_ started caring. About _me_. I wasn't used to that. It caught me by surprise… but I like it. She's… Well… an angel."

Max gulped down the humongous lump in her throat. "And… and what's her name?"

"Now if told you that, I would have to kill you," he answered, winking as he regained his composure. "The truth is, Max, that I can't get enough of seeing her. Smelling her. I can only hope she feels remotely the same way."

Max half-smiled. "I bet she does." She rested her head on his shoulder. "Alec, you are a great guy under that bad boy image. This girl of yours sounds really special. I could bet my life on the fact that she loves you back. From the way you talk about her… I don't see how she could _not_ love you."

Alec grinned and put his arm around her shoulder. "Believe me Max, I see a lot of ways she could not love me." He leaned closer to her. "So tell me about your current love life."

Max squirmed a bit; she could feel his breath tickling her forehead and was admittedly pleased by the feeling. "Well… I'm not quite sure at the moment. See, I'm in a very compromising position." She wriggled some more. He was so close his lips almost touched her skin. "Because I'm not quite sure where I am in my life. I just got over one especially heartbreaking relationship and…" Blood rushing to her face, she scooted away from him. "And although I have… strong feelings for this one guy, I'm not quite sure I can admit love yet. It's too dangerous."

"Strong feelings? Is that so?" Alec's face dropped. "Well, sounds like one lucky guy if you have 'strong feelings' for him. He gets my congrats."

"But you know… even I can't say it out loud… It doesn't mean I don't feel it," she whispered, turning her head to face him. She stared at his lips, just a hairsbreadth's away. "And… I…"

Alec leaned forward, his eyes closing, and—

KNOCK-KNOCK.

"Open up. I know you're in there," said a voice from outside the door.

Max and Alec turned away from each other, faces flushed.

"I could _so_ blast this door open," claimed another voice. "All I need is a paperclip, some wire, and…"

"Jondy, shut up."

The door opened and Syl and Jondy strode in with mischievous looks on their faces. "Hmm… looks like we walked in something important, Syl… Feel guilty?" Jondy asked, picking up the steel poker and adjusting the wood in the fire.

Syl sat down in the rocking chair. "Mm… not really," she replied as she calmly studied her nails.

Max glared at them, but couldn't help but break down and smile. "You guys have wicked timing."

"We know. We good," responded Jondy. She pulled a marshmallow from her pocket, stuck it on the end of the poker, and held it over the fire.

"That's nasty," commented Max with a frown. "That poker is dirty."

"So am I, now let's go." Jondy blew out the flaming marshmallow and popped it in her mouth. "You're needed down at the 'male hideout'."

Max raised her eyebrow. "You know, I never saw you the other night when everyone went into heat. Did you by any chance…"

Jondy choked on her marshmallow.

"I, uh, really don't think I'm needed here. I'm going to go see if anyone else needs my presence," declared Alec, hurrying to the door.

Max opened her mouth to call after him, but thought better of it and crossed her arms resentfully instead as she heard the front door close. "You guys are mean."

Jondy tossed a marshmallow to Syl and handed another to Max. "Yeah, you're not the first one to say that." She stuck another white puffball on the end of the poker. "Now spill it. What are you doing here, alone, in a bed, with some guy?"

"It's not like that. We're not like that," Max growled.

"Then why are you so annoyed?" continued Jondy, sitting down and making herself comfy. "Or should I say frustrated? Sexually?"

"I thought we had to go down to male central," commented Max irritably. Now she was not only missing the warmth of Alec's body beside hers, she was aggravated with the whole 'duty calls' idea.

"Yeah, we do, but people are used to me being late. Now answer my question."

"Nothing happened. He just brought me in here because I was hit with a tranquilizer dart and he decided to be nice. We're just friends." Max dragged her hand down her face, then grinned at her sister evilly. "You never answered _my_ question, Jondy," she said in a matter-of-factly tone. "How did you… _amuse_ yourself during your heat?"

Jondy paled a bit, but lost none of her sarcasm. "Ladies don't kiss and tell."

"You're not a lady and kissing's not _all_ you did," Syl piped in, winking at Max.

Max raised an eyebrow. "Really? Do tell."

Jondy looked in-between the two, then threw her arms in the air in defeat. "Okay, okay… I… I sort of…" She rocked back and forth nervously. "I kinda slept with… um, Zack."

Max's jaw dropped. "You slept with… _Zack?!"_

Jondy nodded then hung her head. "He was the only guy I could find who wasn't an anomaly…"

"You mean he was the only guy on your mind," commented Syl nonchalantly.

"You're twisting my words!"

"No, I straightened them out."

"Uh huh… and how long exactly have you had the hots for our stone-faced CO?" asked Max, pulling her knees up to her chest and leaning back against the headboard.

Jondy sighed. "Does it really matter?"

"Tell."

"Okay… I guess since about… forever."

Syl laughed and dodged a flying marshmallow. "You should've seen her when we went to pick Zack up from the farm. She was hanging all over him and…" She mockingly shivered. "It was just sick."

"Yeah, well, you and Krit and your 'I love you, no I love you more' crap was about to drive me insane," countered Jondy.

The blonde X5 smirked and shrugged. "What can I say? He's my husband."

"Yeah, well, Zack and I are working things out."

"Whoa, whoa, wait, wait. Before you argue about this, why doesn't someone explain to me what exactly happened on the outside world while I dealt with post-Pulse Seattle," Max said, making a 'time out' sign with her hands.

Jondy sat on the end of the bed. "Well, my story can't be much different than yours. I got adopted into a really nice family in Oregon. They gave me an education, kept clothing on my back… for the four years I spent with them, that is. When I turned fifteen I left and have been drifting ever since, always checking over my shoulder. I got a friend of mine to remove the barcode on my neck every few weeks or so—very painful, I don't recommend it—so it's been better… but Zack was always coming around warning me about how I was never safe and I had to keep moving." Her eyes twinkled sadly in the firelight. "When I turned eighteen I started traveling with Zack, learning how to be CO, you know, just in case. Then, he disappeared."

"That's where my story picks up," interrupted Syl. With some effort, she stood up and moved over to the bed, her hand on the slope of her belly. "Of course, you know what happened back at Manticore when we blew the DNA lab up. After that, we found Jondy and told her what happened, then dropped her off in Canada to stay with some X5s awhile just in case. We found out through a few 'reliable sources' later on that you were alive again and Krit and I almost came to visit you, but we ran into Brin. She was… five months pregnant, I think, and getting chased by some psycho tabloid who had seen her barcode only God knows how."

There was a long pause, and when she didn't continue, Max got impatient. "Go on."

"Patience, young grasshopper," replied Syl with a mischievous grin. "I'm getting there. Anyway, we helped her out of that, but she was still ready to run away from us. We somehow knocked some sense into her. Her mind slipped away from Manticore again. We knew if we all had turned rebellious once, we could do it again.

"Krit and I got married a few months ago and now, in true-blue domestic Ordinary fashion, we're now going to have a baby. Of course, that wouldn't stop me from running to help you once we heard about the hostage situation and saw your face all over the papers." She paused. "What about you, Max? What have you been up to besides driving tabloids wild and starting government conspiracies?"

Max shrugged. "Got shot, almost killed Logan a few times, was very temped to knock the living crap out of Alec more than once, saved a few transgenics, rescued a bunch of kids, burned down Manticore, uncovered a three thousand-year-old selective breeding cult, found out I could be the savior of the human race… you know, the usual."

Jondy laughed and gave her sister a high-five. "Wow. Been busy, huh?"

"You know it. It's not like a revved up, hot female such as myself could sit still for very long, right?" declared the youngest X5 with a smirk.

"Don't get cocky on us now," Syl said in a mockingly parental voice.

Max's smirk widened. "When have I ever _not _been cocky? Preacher Max is gone, ladies… the bitch is back."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Alec was busying himself helping a psy-ops transgenic build a solar-powered generator when his attention was caught by a familiar-looking young man staring at him. The man was sitting with a few other X5 males, playing a fairly boring looking game of poker. After trying to ignore the X's gaze for a few minutes, Alec, irritated a little more than he'd like, gave up. He excused himself from the project and walked over to them, putting on his game face.

"Is there a reason you keep looking at me like that? Because last time I checked, I didn't have anything stuck on my ass so there's no reason for you to be staring at it," Alec ranted, coming to a halt a few feet away. "What do you want?"

There was loud guffawing and a chorus of cheers from the other male Xs. The one who had been staring stood up, eye-to-eye with Alec, but with a more muscular build.

"Hey, I remember you," declared Alec, stroking his chin. "You're the dude to tried to dislocate my head from the rest of my body. Robot guy. What happened to your bionic eye?"

"Uh huh… and I remember you, Alec. You're the guy who got Max into trouble with the steelheads."

"Zack, right?"

Zack nodded and crossed his arms over his chest. "That'd be me." He looked Alec up and down, then sat down again. "You don't look as threatening as some say."

Alec's ears perked up. "Hm? You mean you've heard of me?"

"Yeah, take a seat," said another X with a startling resemblance to Max. "The name's Krit, Krit Guevara."

"So you're…"

"Max's brother? Yeah, and a lot more closely than this muscle-head," mused Krit, patting Zack on the shoulder. "So tell me. What's, uh, what's going on between you and our little sister?"

Alec gulped and bit his lip. This was like taking a lie detector test; surrounded by eight fully-trained, fully-grown Xs with suspicious big brother dispositions. "Nothing… right now."

Zack glanced at Krit, who shrugged. "Let's move this someplace else," suggested Krit, standing up. "After all, if things continue like the rumors have been saying… you could be our brother-in-law in a year's time."

Alec's eyes widened. _Oh shit…_

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Max walked arm-in-arm with Jondy and Syl as they headed back to 'headquarters.' "Tell me what happened with Zack."

Syl let out a puff of air, blowing a lock of blonde hair from her face. "Krit and I had spotted him while we were passing through a farming area. He was driving this rickety old pick-up full of cattle farm equipment. After awhile we started approaching him when he stopped to get his breakfast at the local café. It was obvious that he had no memories of us or Manticore. We made friends and after two weeks of just talking to him about anything besides Manticore, he said, out of the blue, 'I remember you.' And the whole lot spilled out from there."

Max processed this information as they walked. "I guess I've missed more than I thought."

Jondy slung her arm over Max's shoulders and placed an affectionate kiss to her little sister's temple. "Maxie, you have been going through a lot right here in Seattle." A pause. "Tell me about this Logan guy Syl was complaining about."

"There's not much left to say. I thought we were meant to be… that we were perfect for each other… and then, like that," she snapped her fingers, "everything spiraled out of control. Suddenly we were fighting. The virus seemed like the wall that couldn't be scaled… even by me." She smiled sadly. "But I'm okay now. We're done and over and I'm free of the opposite sex once again. Totally free and _totally_ single."

Jondy raised an eyebrow incredulously. "Really?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Alec sat down on one side of a table. Zack sat across from him and Krit remained standing. Zack placed a single, faded card in front of Alec. "Turn it over."

Licking his lips nervously, Alec flipped the card face-up. It was a Queen of Hearts.

"See that? That is what Max is. The Queen of Hearts; many hearts at that. You've got to realize that Max is a work-in-progress, just like the rest of us. She acts almighty and all-knowing, but we know it's just a façade," Zack explained, his tone surprisingly soft.

"Rumor is that she's spiraling down; losing hope. If you break her heart Alec, she'll be too far gone even for us. We don't want to see that happen to our little sister," added Krit.

"What makes you guys think Max and I are even gonna go past being friends?" asked Alec, his voice breaking as he said it.

Zack and Krit exchanged glances.

"Look at me," said Zack sternly. "I've watched you two while you're together. I wasn't born yesterday. See… I was once in love with Max. I always will be, but I realize now that it was more of an obsession than the romance that you two have. You've got a helluva girl making goo-goo eyes at you, Alec."

"So you guys dragged me over here just to lecture me on my love life? I don't need this," growled Alec, standing up.

Krit placed a firm hand on Alec's shoulder and pushed him back down. "No, we didn't bring you over here to lecture you. We brought you over here to make sure you know what you're getting into. Max has about twenty people—the loyal subjects of the Queen of Hearts—who love her enough to _kill_ youif you do anything to her. Is that clear?"

Alec nodded. "Yeah, fine. Whatever."

"Good boy," Krit patted him on the shoulder a little more roughly than called for.

"You guys, I'm not going to hurt Max. Why do you think I would?" asked Alec accusingly.

"Look me in the eye," instructed Zack. When he was sure that Alec was looking straight into his eyes, he said slowly and clearly, "Do you love Max?"

Alec gulped. "Yes."

Krit smiled. "Then what are you sitting around here for?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"I mean, it's not like I'm totally obsessed with him or anything. He's Alec. It's just that he's cute and I'm attracted to him. That's it. It's just an itch… when I scratch it, it'll go away," Max was saying.

Jondy and Syl exchanged knowing glances.

"Uh huh, riiight," mumbled Syl.

Max stopped walking, allowing them to continue on. "But I'm serious."

"Just keep telling yourself that," Jondy called over her shoulder.

They arrived at the main part of Terminal City and entered the parking garage that seemed to be the center of action now.

Axle emerged and greeted them, "Hey ladies. The boys are waiting for you."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Max sat down in the only empty seat at the round table that seated three intimidating transgenics. One of them, an anomaly with reddish skin and a lizard-like face, stood and spoke, "I suppose one of us should get things going." His first eyelids blinked, followed by his second. "We were called here to discuss a course of action. A tally was made and there are about 850 transgenics here in Terminal City, with approximately 105 yet to be born."

"Yes, and most of them are from the anomaly side!" huffed an X—the only other X at the table.

"Hey, cut it out," growled Max without looking at him.

The lizard anomaly sighed and continued, "So, any ideas? We can't just sit here and wait for them to storm the place."

"Well, they wouldn't have discovered us if it hadn't been for you damn anomalies running around in broad daylight!" ranted the X. "How stupid can they be?"

Max turned her gaze to him. "What the hell is up your butt, asshole?"

"The name's Zane and I can be mad if I want to. To hell with 'nomlies!"

Max's eyes widened as she took a closer look at the X. He was tall, with sandy blonde hair and piercing blue-green eyes. "Zane?"

"That's me. X5-205. Who are you?"

"Zane… it's me. Max."

Zane took a moment to process this information, then his jaw went slack and he smacked a hand to his forehead. Suddenly, all the fight left him and he was rendered helpless. "Max? _You_ are Max?"

"Yes, that'd be about right," she replied, regaining her composure. "Didn't know one of my brothers would turn out to be such an ass."

"Look, I am just worried about what's gonna happen," defended Zane with a sigh.

"Well, we'd appreciate it if you'd be more cooperative, Zane," said Max coolly. She noticed the bruises on his cheeks and his slightly swollen eye. "What happened to your face?"

"Some X named Alec came in and we had a little squabble."

Max smiled to herself. "Oh."

"Can we continue, people?" rumbled another anomaly in a particularly deep voice, this one with a long snout and rounded ears like a bear.

"Right," replied Max, sitting back in her chair.

The lizard-anomaly continued, "We have two choices: sit and wait to see what happens or launch our own attack. Given our current status and supplies, does anyone think that we would be able to properly defend ourselves if they tried to enter?"

"I don't think we could for very long," said Zane, scratching his scruffy chin. "We have enough ammo and guns for almost every transgenic here, but a lot of them are kids, babies, or pregnant."

"He's right," piped in the bear-like 'nomlie. "If they bring in a force bigger than a thousand, we could be in deep shit."

"But the thing is," interrupted Max, "they don't know how many people we have, how many supplies we have, or what we are all capable of if we work together. The truth is that _they_ are terrified of _us_. And we have got to use that to our advantage."

"What are you saying?" asked the lizard. "That we just bluff our way out of this?"

Max smirked. "We need to convince them that we have a force of about two-thousand armed and ready transgenics, but we won't make any threatening moves towards them. They also need to believe that we are all stocked-up on food and all that good stuff. Part of their strategy is to wait until we run out of food and eat each other up or something."

The other three transgenics chuckled.

"In fact, now that I think about it…" She chewed on her lip. "We should execute this plan at once. You—" she pointed to the lizard, "—what's your name?"

"Styx."

"Okay, Styx. And what's your name?" she pointed at the bear-anomaly.

"The name's Baba."

Max held in a chuckle and covered her mouth to hide her smile. Baba the bear.

"Yeah, yeah…" mumbled Baba resentfully. "Go ahead and say it."

Max shook her head. "No, no. I wasn't gonna." She smiled at him. "Anyway, you, Styx, and Zane need to go and inform your transgenics of our plan. We want ideas from everyone. And while we're at it…" She scratched her chin. "To the best of your capability, I want you to document every kind of transgenic you have, their specialties, their designations, and their ranks in their units, okay? We need some kind of roster… just in case."

The three nodded.

"Good. Gentleman, I think we're well on our way to actually becoming an organized military force."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After the meeting was adjourned, Max returned to the apartment that she had woken up in. Ominous gray clouds loomed overhead as she walked down the TC street. She jumped inside the building just as the first drops of rain hit the pavement. The thought of the feathery-soft bed and cozy fire made her surprisingly relaxed and carefree. She was willing to risk getting soaked to the bone just to get back there—but luckily didn't.

The rest of the place wasn't too bad either. It was on the fifth floor of the building, which was second from the top, and the fireplace extended up through the sixth floor and out the roof. A shredded leather couch sat in the living room opposite a busted television. The kitchen was right next to the living room, separated by a dirty granite counter with a rusted sink. Above the counter were some semi-rotted cabinets holding a few cobweb-covered porcelain plates and bowls.

The entryway had tiles that were probably white once upon a time, but were now covered in a layer of grime and dirt that gave them a beige, almost brown, color. The bathroom had the same tiles, a deteriorating curtain hanging across a cracked marble shower, a destroyed toilet, and a rusted marble sink.

Max looked around the place a bit to make sure there were no leaks before returning to the bedroom and sinking into the over-stuffed bed. She took a deep, calming breath and found herself inhaling the scent of… Alec. The X5 bolted upright and pulled back the covers to find Alec's leather jacket. A sigh left her. She was about to toss it over her shoulder to deal with it later, but something seemed to hold her arm still. After a few moments, against her better judgment, she slipped the jacket onto her shoulders and inhaled his scent again. It smelled of his cheap cologne and his shampoo; of grime and Seattle smog; and, surprisingly, of chocolate. She had been sitting there, just enjoying the feel of his jacket on her body and the smell of him inside her head, when someone knocked on the door, causing her to jump.

"Coming!" Max called, running to the front door and opening it. A gasp escaped her lips before she could control it. "Alec?"

He stood there, rivers of rainwater falling off his body, panting for air. His white t-shirt was plastered to torso and his jeans were heavy with water. There was a strangely terrified look on his face, yet at the same time he looked absolutely pitiful, like a half-drowned kitten, blinking rapidly to prevent the water from falling into his eyes.

"Damn, Alec, come in," she said, backing away from the door so he could enter. "What are you doing here?"

He didn't reply. Instead, he stood there staring at her. She wearing _his_ leather jacket he realized. His heart leapt into his throat excitedly.

Max stared back, adrenaline rushing through her veins as she saw the emotion practically pooling in his eyes. "Alec…"

Alec stopped her by placing a hand on either side of her face and pulling her into a very heated, very passionate kiss.

Stunned, Max went slack and he had to put his arms around her waist to keep her from falling over, but they never broke the kiss. Her lips automatically parted, a slight moan escaping her as his tongue slid into her mouth. Minutes ticked by and, when both of them realized the reactions of their bodies to the lip lock, they separated. Max fell against the wall behind her and Alec against the opposite.

"Max… I was looking for you everywhere," Alec panted. "I've got to tell you something." He gulped. "Max, I love you."

Max's eyes widened and she was struck speechless for a moment. A _brief_ moment. Then, a soft smile upon her face, she stepped forward and kissed him again. His hands raised and stroked her arms until she wrapped them around his neck. Her hips swayed and she pressed herself into his body as his hands moved to hold her firmly in place. Before things went any further, she pulled back and searched his eyes. "I love you, too."

Alec smiled and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "I was hoping you'd say that." He put on an innocent face and slipped his jacket from her shoulders, leaving her in the tank top she had been wearing under her cat suit earlier. "Hmm…" Still sporting a face that could get him away with murder, Alec pushed the straps of her tank top down. He then dipped his head and placed feathery-soft kisses on her exposed skin, causing her to shudder. "You like that, huh?"

"No one's ever given me goose bumps before," she whispered, running her fingers through his hair. She then shrieked in surprise as Alec tossed her over his shoulder and ran into the bedroom, heaving her onto the bed and flopping down next to her.

Alec stroked her face as she snuggled up next to him. "So… now that we have a room… do you think…" He rolled on top of her, resting most of his body weight on his elbows, which were on either side of Max's shoulders.

"Mmm… I'm trying to think but I can barely breathe," Max whispered. She lifted her head and kissed him.

"You know what's good about this place?" panted Alec as they came up for a breath of air.

"What?"

"No one can hear you scream."

Max laughed and shoved Alec off of her, then rolled on top of him. "Now where were we…?" She pulled his slick t-shirt from his back and ran her hands down his chest.

"Right about…" Alec slipped her tank top up and over her head. "Here…" 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The police barricades were momentarily cleared to allow three armored trucks to get close to the Terminal City perimeter. The officer in charge, Captain Trey Ramos, approached the vehicles as the doors opened and fifteen people exited. One of them, a dark-skinned man in his early-thirties, moved forward to meet him. He was wearing khaki slacks and a black leather blazer with a white turtleneck underneath.

"Captain Ramos," said the man, shaking Ramos' hand.

"Colonel Briggs, nice of you to join us," Ramos responded. He peeked over Briggs' shoulder at the fourteen soldiers standing straight and rigid, their guns shouldered. "I see you've brought only the necessities."

Briggs smirked. "My kids can handle this until more are ready, Captain. They're just as good as any of the things in there; probably even better."

"Just so long as they don't cause more trouble than they're worth."

"Oh, they're worth a lot more than you'd think, Captain. Now, if you'll excuse us… we've had a long trip." Briggs signaled to the soldiers and they followed him in two straight lines of seven to the trailer where the officers could freshen up.

As they walked, Briggs' cell phone rang. He opened it. "Briggs."

"_Are you in_?"__

"Yeah. We'll have this mess taken care of in no time."

"We're counting on you, Briggs. The public thinks no one is taking responsibility for the creation of these wayward transgenics."

Briggs chuckled. "Well, they'll soon find that we always clean up our mistakes. Manticore never does a job halfway. Briggs, out."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


	5. Shattered

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters in this story that appear in the hit syndicated TV show, Dark Angel, owned and created by James Cameron. I do, however, own any and all original characters that appear in this work of fan fiction.

Summary: Just as Max and Alec begin to believe that the siege will soon wear itself out, the once-dormant threat of Manticore makes itself known in the form of an ambush with dire consequences. The casualties hit dangerously close to home, and Max realizes that it's up to her to stop the potential genocide situation quickly approaching.

The Siege 

by

Brin 

"You make a decision and you take charge of your life. You don't need a higher power to help you. You don't need a sponsor. What you need is a strength of mind, willpower, and character." –Lydecker

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

_You know what's strange? There are so many ways to say simple things… like the word 'angry'. 'Furious'. 'Maddened'. 'Enraged'. I mean, come on. They all produce the same effect… but  when it comes down to saying those three defining words… 'I love you'… there's only one way to say it. And it sticks. I guess the English language is just weird like that, but it's fine with me, because I was never a big talker anyway. I love Alec._

**Chapter 5: Shattered**

Rain dribbled down a cracked window framed with fraying off-white curtains, and through it you could see the dark night sky and a quiet city. For the citizens of Last Hope, it seemed that all the troubles of the outside world were beginning to fade away… almost.

Max lay peacefully underneath the window, staring at the sleeping form next to her. She pulled the soft woolen covers tighter around her bare body and snuggled closer to him, his light breaths tickling her neck. Alec looked so adorable when he was sleeping. He lay with one hand tucked underneath his head, the other resting lazily in the middle of his bare chest. His face was content and relaxed with a smile pulling at his lips. It seemed like he didn't have a care in the world… Thunder rumbled and Max glanced outside the small window. She picked up Alec's watch. 9:00 P.M. Hadn't Syl asked her to come to some kind of party at 9:30 earlier? She sat up and quietly scooted towards the end of the bed, but a hand reached up, grabbed her arm, and pulled her back into place.

"I don't think so," mumbled Alec sleepily, rolling over so that she was pinned underneath him. He wrapped his arms around her bare shoulders. "Where do you think you're going?"

Max smiled and gave him a little kiss. "Syl said that there was a party. I thought it would be nice to go and see what they have planned. I mean, they don't exactly have the _best_ supplies world…" She laughed as his hand tickled her side.

"Hmm… party… stay here… party… stay here…" He sighed and rolled off of her. "Well, I can tell you that staying here definitely wins the popular vote, considering the various activities that we could do in the comfort of home, but I see that you want to hang out with your siblings… who are creepy, by the way."

Max watched as he stood up and searched for his clothes. "They are not!" she protested with a laugh. "How are they any more creepy than you?"

"Well, I was busily minding my own business when big brother Zack started staring at my ass. Yes, he was staring at my ass," he explained, picking up his jacket and soggy shirt. "Where did you throw my boxers?"

"Umm…" Max bit her lip and looked around. "Aha!" She crawled to the edge of the bed and pulled his boxers out from underneath.

"How did those get under there? Wait… don't answer that." Alec put them on and flinched. "Cold. Wet. I need to find a change of clothes."

Max laughed and started searching for her own clothes. "You have enough time to stop by the clothes storage and get a new set." She sniffed. "I need a shower."

Alec shrugged and put on his shirt. "Well, anyway, your brothers were watching me and when I went over to see what their problem was, they went all psycho on me. I felt like I was in some pre-Pulse mafia movie or something." He handed Max her pants. "It was freaky. Do they treat all your boyfriends like that?"

"No. They drove Andy to insanity, convinced Eric he was a skitzo, and tried to kill Logan," replied Max with a shrug and a wink.

"Oh right. I forgot," Alec replied with a laugh as she slipped on her shirt. "So… I'm going to stop by the storage center and you are going to go take a shower… right?"

"Right."

Alec winked and pulled her close to him. "I love you." He kissed her, then released his hold on her waist and backed up towards the door, holding it open for her. "If we don't go now we'll never get out of here."

"I agree," Max said as she hurried out of the room.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Max put her long hair up into a ponytail as she exited Terminal City's shower house. She silently thanked the brilliant transgenics who came up with the idea of collecting rainwater and using it for _showers_. Of course, she would've preferred a warm bath, but a girl can't have everything. The night air was crisp and cold, making Max wish she still had Alec's leather jacket to keep herself warm. She rubbed her arms as she walked towards the main building.

"Hey! Max!"

Max stopped walking and turned around to see Eddie and Pick coming down the street towards her, their hands grasped between them. "Hey, guys. Where're you headed?" the X5 greeted.

"The party," replied Eddie with a toothy grin. She was wearing a black t-shirt, hipster jeans with a chain for a belt, scuffed high top sneakers, and her hair was pulled back into a braid. "You too?"

"Yeah," responded Max. "Don't you two look nice."

"Found an old crate full of pre-Pulse stuff," explained Pick nonchalantly. He wore a red band t-shirt marked _Dashboard Confessional _(but that didn't really mean anything to the three of them), faded blue jeans, and red sneakers. "The rest of the stuff we shipped down to the clothes storage."

"Well that was nice of you," commented Max, smiling at the two. "So where you been all day?"

"I think the question is… where have _you_ been all day," Eddie shot back. She raised an eyebrow. "You look so satisfied… that glowing smile… I wonder… are you _getting some_?"

Max started laughing nervously. "No! No I'm not… getting… _anything_."

Eddie scoffed and exchanged a knowing glance with her partner. "Yeah, right." They shared a laugh at Max's expense.

The X5 crossed her arms indignantly, but kept smiling. She couldn't escape the truth, as it were… but she really didn't have a problem living with it.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Meanwhile, just outside the perimeter fence, Briggs walked up and down his row of fourteen transgenics, inspecting them with carefully. They all stood to his height or above, even the girls, and that was saying something—he was definitely not a short man at six-feet-nothing. Their bodies were fully developed though some were as young as sixteen, and it was not hard to see that all were in tiptop shape even through their Kevlar armor.

"This isn't going to be an easy in and out like the other missions we've had. You are to go inside and present a physical threat to the AWOL transgenics so that they know we mean business. While you're at it, you can also do some reconnaissance duty for the rest of us. Whoever goes in there will not be coming out," Briggs was explaining as he eyeballed his soldiers. "You must understand and accept that this is a suicide mission."

"Sir! Permission to speak, Sir!" said one of them.

875, the colonel noted. He was the biggest male, standing at 6' 8" and weighing around two hundred pounds. Aggressive and powerful, the boy had been under Brigg's command for several years now. "Granted," said Briggs, stopping in front of the addressed adolescent.

"Sir! I believe am capable of this mission!" declared 875, saluting. "I am willing to sacrifice myself, Sir!"

Briggs nodded thoughtfully. 875 was a good soldier; had always been unquestioning and loyal. He was perfect. "Alright. Get yourself wired with a mic and earpiece. You're going in," announced the colonel with a smile that was crooked in more ways than one.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

At the party, Eddie and Pick were swept away from Max's side by a wave of friends almost as soon as they entered. They somehow ended up next to Axle, Hank, and Junky – which was to be expected anyway.

Max, still at the door, took in the sight before her. She was more than just a little impressed. They hung curtains and blankets around a large area, creating a makeshift ballroom. Someone had set up about five tables against one of the 'walls' to give the effect of a bar, and there were several other round tables set in random places, all of which were occupied. Music blared from rickety speakers made new by Dix and his bunch. Adding to the effect, hundreds of transgenics stood around with, of all things, drinks in their hands (she made a mental note to check that out).

"Hey! Max! Max! Little fella!" called Joshua from the bar.

"What's up, Big Fella?" replied Max as she approached him.

"I – uh wanted to introduce Max to new friend. New friend named, named uh… Pandora," proclaimed the dog-anomaly proudly. He waved his hand towards another doggish anomaly, this one distinctly female. "Pandora is special – first."

"I thought you were first, Josh," Max said with a laugh as she shook hands with Pandora. It was hard to imagine a dog woman looking feminine at all, but this 'nomlie somehow gave off the impression of being a very sophisticated woman. Strange.

"Yeah, but, but Pandora first _female_," declared Joshua proudly.

Max chuckled and kissed him on the forehead. "Glad you've found a friend, Big Fella! Have you seen Alec around?"

Joshua nodded. "Uh huh. Alec said… 'Give Max message' and, uh, 'knock yourself out.'"

"What was the message?"

"Umm… eh…" Joshua scratched his head a moment, then pulled a piece of paper from his pocket. "This – this Alec's message."

Max accepted the crumpled letter and rose. "Thanks, Josh." She moved a few seats down for a little privacy and opened the letter.

_Hey Maxie,_

_Tell ya what: If you can find me, then I'll give you a present and a kiss. If not… well then I'll still give you the present and kiss… but this is much more romantic than just standing around waiting for you in plain sight, isn't it?_

_Alec_

Max closed the letter and shook her head amusedly. "Very funny," she muttered to herself. Sliding off the stool, she headed off to find her lost lover. Not too long after leaving the relative safety of the bar, she bumped into someone. "Sorry."

"Hey! Watch where you're going! I'm walking here!"

"Holy shit!" cried Max, jumping back. Standing there in front of her was a fully-grown leopard. Not an anomaly, no! A leopard! A regular old, nearly-extinct leopard! "What the hell?"

"What? You never seen a leopard before?" replied the big cat in a scratchy voice.

"N-n-not a… talking one…" stammered Max, her jaw slack. He had a voice like that short Pre-Pulse actor… what was his name? Danny Devito.

The leopard laughed and stood up on its back legs, looking Max up and down. "I know you! You're 452, that hot X everyone's been talking about." He held out his paw. "The name's Leo. Leo the leopard. Laugh all you want."

Max couldn't help but chuckle as she shook his paw. "What… what are you, exactly?"

Leo got back on all fours and sat on his haunches. "I was designed to the companion of some prime minister in South America and report back to Manticore about the information I gathered. But I never got sent out, so I guess you could call me Manticore's big, universal joke." He licked his paw and slicked back the fur between his ears. "Handsome, don't you think?"

"Dashing," Max replied with a laugh. "It was very nice to meet you, Leo the leopard, but I must be off to find my boyfriend."

"Boyfriend, eh? I bet I could kick his ass. Ever think about dating a cat? You're pretty cute," rambled the big feline without any seriousness.

"I don't know if I'm into the whole cross breeding thing, but I'll give you a call," answered Max amusedly. "See ya around."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

875 cleared the perimeter fence on a dark, quiet side of Terminal City with ease, landing with nothing more than a soft thump. He sniffed the air a few times and looked around for any indication of life. Finding none, he ducked low and crept deep into enemy territory, his MP5 automatic held ready.

He paused behind a pile of twisted metal as he came to the junction of two streets. A sentry stood in the middle, his shotgun shouldered and a cigar held between his scaled lips. 875 frowned at the hideous, lizardlike creature in front of her. Sliding his MP5 into his holster, the Centurion waited for the anomaly to move. Minutes slipped by before the lizard anomaly finally moved. He spat out his stump of a cigar and walked several feet forward. So that he was watching the street opposite 875. With speed unmatched by any other living creature, 875 sped across the street and into the safety of a dark building. The only inkling that the anomaly received was a slight breeze across the back of his neck.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It wasn't long after her run-in with Leo that Max found her lover, who was by himself, swaying back and forth to the music. He had on a pair of black slacks and a white wife beater that clung to his muscular chest. All thoughts of being annoyed with him left Max without so much as a g'bye.

"Hello, Maxie," he greeted softly, planting a kiss on her cheek. "You found me."

Max smirked and put her hands on her hips. "What's up with the scavenger hunt?" she asked with a raised eyebrow.

Alec shrugged cutely. "Joshua needs a little time alone once in awhile." He slung an arm around her shoulders. "I had an interesting little chat with some other Xs."

"Did you now?"

"Yep. I found out a few interesting things…"

"Like what?"

"For instance," he began, "the wine and other alcoholic beverages provided here at this lovely little party were discovered buried under a three-story building. Dix and Leg contacted Mole about the find who contacted some psy-ops who contacted a few X7s who contacted a menagerie of X5s who planned this entire thing. They call it a 'social get-together.' Why not let people enjoy themselves?"

Max laughed. "Really? Have you been _gossiping_, Alec?"

"The most sacred sport known to womankind?! I think not," Alec replied, eyes twinkling mischievously. "I leave all that up to you."

The female X5 swatted him on the head. "Funny."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Infiltrated main sentry patrol patterns," 875 whispered into his mic. "Sentinels are armed with handguns and no armor. ETA approximately forty-five seconds."

_"Keep your head in the game, 875," _Briggs' voice said through 875's earpiece._ "The number one rule is not to underestimate them. A group of several hundred transgenics are not to be taken lightly. Watch your back."_

"Yes, Sir," replied 875 quietly. He pulled his goggles down over his eyes as he neared the main building of Terminal City—a crumbling old parking garage. His keen ears could hear the pulsing music loud and clear, along with the rumble of hundreds of voices in one area. This was disappointing. He had been expecting more out of the _infamous_ transgenics of Terminal City.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"So tell me about the music. How can we afford using this much power?" Max asked. She and Alec were pressed together, bouncing up and down to the beat of the music but not really dancing.

"One of the psy-ops kids developed a solar power collector and solar powered generator. So far we've collected enough power to light up the entire city for a day. How do you like them apples?" answered Alec with a wink. "Never underestimate what those guys can do."

Max laughed and stopped moving as the track switched to a slow song. She breathed a sigh of relief and put her head on Alec's chest, reveling in the feeling of his arms as they wrapped around her waist. "I've never heard this before. What is it?"

_You_'_ve got a way_ _with_ _me_

_Somehow you got me to believe_

_In everything that I could be_

_I gotta say, you really got a way_

"The X6s have been pillaging houses for pre-Pulse CDs. I think this one is called…" He chewed his lip as he thought about it. "Oh yeah, some singer called… Shania Twain or something like that. Ring a bell?"

Max shook her head. "Must've been pretty far back… but I like it."

_You_'_ve_ _got a_ _way it seems_

_You gave faith to find my dreams_

_You_'_ll never know what that means_

_Can't you see_, _you got a way with me_?__

Alec leaned down and kissed the base of her neck. "Love you, Maxie."

"Love you, too." She smiled and ran a hand down his muscular back. There was a fire burning in her chest as he held her close. It was like nothing she had ever felt before…. intoxicating, addicting, pleasing, and painful all at once.

It's in the way you want me It's in the way you hold me 

_The way you show me_

_Just what love's made of_

_It's in the way we make love_

Meanwhile, on the other side of the love chain, Alec was enjoying himself just as much. Here he was with the first woman he had ever stuck around with after having sex. After Rachel, he had liked to think of his heart as stone cold and indestructible. Then came Max Guevara, all steel bras and tough-as-nail attitude. He hadn't seen it coming. She hadn't seen it coming… but BAM… here they were. Wrapped in each other's arms in public for the first time.

You've got a way with words 

_You kept me smiling even when it_ _hurt_

_There_'_s_ _no way to measure what_ _your_ _love is worth_

_I can_'_t believe the way you get through to me_

So here they were, two slightly-above-normal adults trapped in the siege of the century. There was nowhere to go but up or down—victory or death. That was the bottom line… and every transgenic in the city knew it. In a way, this party was meant to be a final return to normalcy. The government wouldn't let them sit unopposed much longer. With the same thoughts dancing across their troubled minds, Max and Alec leaned forward, lips connecting.

Oh, how I adore you like no one before you I love you just way you are 

_It_'_s in the way you want me_,_ it_'_s in the way you hold me_

_The way you show me just what love's made of_

_It's in the way we make love_

_It's just the way you are_…__

The song ended, and so did the kiss. Max, seemingly in a trance, fell slack into Alec's embrace.

"You want to go home?" he asked, rubbing her back.

"Home," Max repeated groggily. "Home… I have a home." Her warm brown eyes wandered around the room. It was like heaven—momentary though it was.

Zack and Jondy danced together, hips touching. The former CO of the '09 escapees looked rather nervous as he held her close. He was whispering something in her ear as they moved. Every now and then Jondy would start laughing and lean her head against his shoulder while he just smiled timidly and continued to dance.

Syl, of course, was with Krit. They each danced with one hand on Syl's rounded stomach, smiling at each other and talking spiritedly. There was a priceless sparkle in their eyes as they looked at each other, giggling and making faces like love-struck schoolchildren.

Across the room, Pick stood behind Eddie with his chin on her shoulder, arms draped around her waist as they gently swayed to the music; not exactly dancing. Her head was turned slightly toward him; her lips grazing his cheek every now and then. The young teens had there eyes closed and remained silent, seemingly mesmerized by the other's presence.

Even Joshua had his girl, who was nearly as tall as him, and he was looking especially happy as he blabbered on. She just smiled at him.

"This place is good for us, Alec. We don't have to worry about secrets, about hiding, about running… we're almost free spirits here," Max commented, raising her head to look at Alec. "I mean, besides the mob that wants to kill us at the gates."

Alec laughed. "You're right, Maxie. Being stuck with all these transgenics is really… how would you put it? Enlightening. I mean, some of them are pretty damn interesting." He jerked his thumb over his shoulder. "But there's this one… damn, she gets to me."

Max smiled mischievously as she replied, "Mm… same here. I mean, this one just drives me crazy. His name is Mole and I'd like to pop him a good one someday."

"Ha, ha," grumbled Alec. "Very funny."

"Yeah, I thought so," Max responded with a smirk. "You know—" She suddenly froze as a sense of dread washed over her. "Alec… Alec, do you…"

Alec had stopped moving as well. The hair on the back of his neck bristled in the response to the eerie sensation going up his spine. "Someone's watching." He looked up and his heart dropped to his feet as he spotted a shadow on the ceiling. "There!"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

875 saw one of the transgenics spot him with a shout. Instantaneously, the rest lifted their heads and started going mad. "I have been compromised! I repeated, I have been compromised! Order to terminate requested!" he yelled into his mic.

"_Request granted_. _Take them out_."__

Grinning devilishly, 875 emptied his gun into the crowd.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Get down! Get the kids outta here!" Alec shouted over the mass chaos that erupted as bullets started flying. Blood was spraying and people were falling over themselves in a frenzied attempt to leave. The curtain walls collapsed and the speakers were smashed in by thundering feet. Everything was falling apart. Alec ran through the folds of people, towards the assailant, who was hanging outside the building from the upper story. The X5 vaulted himself into the air as the aggressor was preoccupied and struck the man full-force, sending them both tumbling to the ground.

Max held back a cry as she saw her fellow transgenics get mowed down, screams of pain and anguish filling the air. When she turned to find Alec, he was nowhere to be seen. Her heart stopped cold as she called for him. "ALEC!" She planted her feet, a rock in a river of moving bodies, and turned to the attacker, fairly sure she would find her lover there.

Sure enough, Alec and the attacker were circling each other menacingly.

"Where the hell did you come from? I thought Frankenstein was just a story," sneered Alec, fists clenched.

"Never been called that before," replied the armored attacker. He lashed out at Alec with staggering speed, managing to punch the X5 right in the face. Alec saw colors as he went flying back into Zack and Krit, who were coming to join the fight. "I am 875, your superior."

"You okay?" asked Max as she rushed to her lover's side. Alec lay disoriented on the floor, eyes rolling around in his head like marbles. Blood was leaking from his busted lip.

"I've been sent here to kill you all," explained 875 as pulled out his machine gun and aimed it at Max's head. "Stand down." Before he could pull the trigger, however, he was tackled from the side by a small flash of color.

"Brin!" Zack yelled, jumping up as 875 and Brin slid across the floor, wrestling all the way. He looked at Krit, who nodded at back. They launched themselves into the fight, pulling 875 off a thoroughly beaten Brin and shoving him into the wall, each holding down one of his arms. "Don't move!" instructed Zack, pulling out his gun and placing it at 875's temple. "Or I swear I will blow your brains out."

875 scoffed. "Think you're that fast? Or that strong?" He threw his body forward, causing the gun to go off. Zack and Krit flew away from him, landing near their unconscious sister. As quickly as they had been disposed of, the two were replaced by Max, Alec, and Jondy, who tore into 875 with all their might. He ducked Jondy, clipping her on the feet as she flew over his head so that she went crashing headfirst into the wall; then he kicked Max as soon as she was within range. The young woman went sprawling. Alec, however, was a different story. With blinding speed, Alec managed to land a good hook to 875's face, then his foot made solid connection with 875's stomach.

875 fell back, surprised. He put a hand to his busted lip and grinned, though there was little humor in it. "No one's ever drawn my blood before," he growled as straightened himself to his full height.

"Yeah, well get used to it. There's a lot more where that came from," Alec replied, running towards him again. He struck high, but 875 caught his wrist and kicked him in the stomach. Blood spilled from Alec's mouth from the force of the blow and, almost reflexively, he jumped forward and kicked 875 in the chest, knocking them both to the ground. 875 twisted Alec's arm behind his back and punched him. Alec smashed his head into his opponent's and they separated, quickly getting to their feet.

Meanwhile, the other X5s helped each other up. "Do something!" Max was repeating as she watched her lover fight for his life.

Zack cocked his gun, aimed, and fired.

875 fell to the ground to avoid the bullet and, while he was down, kicked Alec's feet out from under him.

Max watched, frozen with terror, as 875 jumped to his feet and started kicking the living daylights out of her lover. Zack, Krit, and Jondy jumped into action, but she remained where she was, her body like lead. Other transgenics started coming back to join the fight, carrying the guns they had run to fetch.

As they neared, 875 pulled out another gun and pointed it at the three advancing X5s. Krit and Zack ducked out of the way, but Jondy got a bullet in a shoulder and went down.

"Hold your fire!" shouted Jondy to the other transgenics as she struggled to sit up. "Wait for the clear shot!"

875 threw Krit across the room, then got punched across the cheek by Zack. He stumbled backwards, but quickly gained his footing. "Nice shot," 875 said with a smirk. "Now feel this." He darted up to Zack and punched him so hard in the chest that the X5 went flying _through _a wall and kept going until he hit another wall about fifty feet away. As the X5 crumpled to the ground, 875 turned to the opposing transgenics. "Any more takers?"

"Fire!" yelled Jondy and Max at the same time.

The transgenics pulled their triggers, but before the bullets could even leave their guns… their target was gone.

Jondy's eyes widened in shock. "Hold your fire!" She looked around for him, but then she felt cold hard steel pressing into the back of her neck.

"Let's see if barcodes are bullet proof…" 875 sneered, his finger tightening on the trigger.

Another trigger cocked and 875 suddenly became still.

"How about we see if whatever the hell you are can survive with a bullet lodged inside their brain?" growled Alec, pressing the barrel of his gun into 875's temple. "Let her go. Now."

"I suggest _you_ lower _your_ weapon. I'm not afraid to die… and I'm not afraid to kill. You're not afraid to kill. So why don't you kill me?" 875 pressed, the smirk never leaving his face.

"Don't think you're safe just yet," Alec warned. He shoved him to the floor and pressed his foot into his neck. "Don't move."

875 smiled up at him. "Think this'll stop me?" Grabbing Alec's leg, he threw him onto the floor and jumped up.

"Bad idea," Alec said with a smirk of his own.

Before 875 could realize what Alec meant, something ripped through his chest. He looked down to see the blood gushing from a baseball-sized hole in his torso. Turning around, the air was suddenly filled with the sound of guns firing. As a bullet penetrated his skull, then another and another, 875 fell to the ground, finally _dead_.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


	6. Aftermath

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters in this story that appear in the hit syndicated TV show, Dark Angel, owned and created by James Cameron. I do, however, own any and all original characters that appear in this work of fan fiction.

Summary: The transgenics prepare for war and an old 'ally' returns to quell the questions arising in Terminal City.

The Siege 

****

By

Brin 

****

_Pardon me while I_ _burst_ _into_ _flames_

_I_'_ve had enough of the world_

_And it_'_s people's mindless games_

_So pardon me while I burn_

_And rise above the flame_

_Pardon me_, _pardon me_, _don't ever be the same_

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~__

_Sometimes I wonder why the hell we bother_. _Why the hell we even try to stay alive in this fucked up world_. _It_'_s not like they're going to let us make a transgenic colony here in good ol_' _Terminal City_. _Don't they understand how much they're hurting us here? Do they even grasp the idea that we might _feel, _just like them_? _Apparently not, because they_'_re intent on sticking that knife through our chests and twisting it as much as they can_…_ and the sick thing is, they'll probably enjoy it too._

Chapter 6: Aftermath 

"How many dead?" Max asked quietly.

Baba stared at the floor. "Twenty dead. Thirty-eight wounded."

"Shit," Max whispered, leaning back in her chair. She held her head in her hands and took a deep breath to calm herself. "That's it. This can't happen again. I want triple the sentry duty. No nook or cranny left unguarded. Move the pregnant females, the wounded, and the children to the middle of the city with as many guards as we can spare."

The bear 'nomlie slowly moved his head up and down. "Yes, ma'am."

Max closed her eyes when he left, hot tears streaming down her face. Twenty. Dead. The thought of so many more dying made her sick. If there were more like him… like 875… _Genocide_ was the prominent word in her mind. Would they all die for a lost cause? Was freedom even achievable in this world? She sat like that for a few minutes, her mind racing with doubt, then two soft hands rested on her shoulders.

"You alright?"

Max turned around and gazed up at Jondy, who looked down upon her with sad, tear-filled eyes. "I'm fine," the younger X5 said, her voice nothing more than a whisper.

"Don't look fine."

"Jondy, twenty of our own are dead from one attack from one… thing. How are we supposed to fight an entire army of things like him? It just… it just seems so hopeless," Max whispered, the flow of tears down her face increasing. "And I don't know what to do… I don't know what to do… I'm going to get all these people killed."

"No, no you're not," Jondy said, wrapping her arms about her little sister's shoulders and resting her head on top of Max's. "Max, we were caught off-guard. All of us. We're just going to have to take some extra precautions from now on."

Max buried her face in Jondy's uninjured shoulder. "But how many of us have to die before we're safe?"

Jondy rubbed Max's back and kissed her on the head. "We'll never know, Maxie. What matters is that you lead us through this. They trust you; respect you, Maxie. Every single transgenic in this city would follow you to their death. You've got to realize how important that is. They look to you, Maxie."

"But what if I can't? What if I _do_ lead them all to their deaths? Jondy… I'm just not ready for this. I'm not the CO. Zack is. I was made to follow orders, not give them…"

"Max, listen to me," Jondy said sternly. "We are gonna get out of this. And you are gonna lead us to our destiny, whether that destiny be happily ever after or death. You wouldn't be made our leader if we didn't trust you. Now go visit your man down at hospital wing. He's been whining at me for hours."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Max slowly walked down the stairs to the underground hospital wing, in no hurry to face the wounded of this incident. Her eyes swept over the cots dotting the floor. The injuries varied from fatal to scrapes and bruises. She spotted Eddie and Pick huddled around a cot and approached.

"Hey," said Max quietly as she came to stand next to Eddie, who was crying. She looked down to see Axle lying on the cot, his head bandaged.

"The bullet nicked his skull," Pick stated as he wrung his hands. "He's lucky. Junky… and Hank…" The X6's voice broke and his head dropped to the cot, sobs wracking his broad frame. It was obvious that he wanted to be anywhere but here as he cried like a baby.

"They're dead, Max," blurted Eddie, turning her tear-filled eyes to the X5. "Both of them. Gone. Like that." She snapped her fingers. "Our brothers are… are _dead_." And then she was crying like her partner, clinging to him for comfort that he wasn't in any position to give.

Max felt her heart sink and the guilt rise up in her throat. She extended a quivering hand and touched the feline teenager's hair compassionately. "I'm… I'm sorry."

They stood in silence for a few moments before Pick stood and stormed out of the room. Eddie lingered, torn between Axle and her partner, then relented and hurried out after the angered X6.

Guilt gripping her heart, Max stared at the now-empty doorway through which the two had disappeared. It wasn't right. It just wasn't fucking right to put them all through this. The government said they were monsters? The public _believed_ they were monsters? Max put a hand to her forehead and let out a strangled sob. She'd like to show them what monsters were—the bastard who had done this to them; had killed them like animals. Her fists clenched. Turning, she was ripped from her thoughts by the sight of Brin lying on one of the cots with her baby, just a tiny blue bundle, sleeping peacefully on her stomach. Biting her lip, Max slowly approached and timidly took a seat next to the cot. "Hey," she greeted softly

Brin's black eyes darted to her, then returned to the ceiling. "Hey," she returned.

"Are you… okay?" asked Max, nervously wringing her hands. "Took a beating."

"I'm fine. Just a few bumps and bruises." A smile crossed her delicate features. "About time someone kicked my ass, eh little sis?"

Max felt the apprehension whoosh out of her like air out of a balloon. She allowed herself a small laugh. "The guy could kick a few."

Still smiling, Brin affectionately rubbed Max's hand. "So what's on your mind?"

"Can I ask you something?" asked the younger X5, studying the scars on her older sister's knuckles.

"Of course."

"Have you ever… frozen… during a fight? Just… stopped?" asked Max tentatively.

Brin bit her lip before replying, "Every soldier has a breaking point, Max."

"I saw that asshole hit Alec and… and it was like I forgot how to move.. That's never happened to me before. It's scary. I felt helpless."

"Don't even worry about it, little sister. You were shocked… we all were. It won't happen again. Believe me," reassured Brin.

Max smiled in response and turned her gaze at the tiny baby on Brin's stomach. He was sucking his thumb as he slept, his pudgy little face holding a lot more serenity than most transgenics had felt in their entire lives. "How old is he?" she asked, scooting closer.

Brin sighed, instantly regretting the action since her stomach went up enough to shake little Ben, nearly waking him up. She froze for a moment, then, when she was sure he wasn't gonna wake up, she answered, "About five weeks."

"Oh… he's still just a _tiny_ baby then," commented Max, gently touching the baby's soft cheek. She looked up. "Thanks for coming. I mean, I know this place isn't at the top of your list of places to take your child."

"Max, my first choice was to take my baby where my siblings were… and this is the place. No matter that it just happens to be under attack by thousands of Ordinaries out for our blood," Brin said, this time with a wide smile. She opened her mouth to say something more, but little Ben woke up and started making his needs known. "Oh… baby Ben, what's wrong?" cooed the older X5, struggling to sit up even though her body screamed in protest.

"Here, let me take him," suggested Max, removing the tiny bundle from Brin's bruised arms.

Ben's wailing ceased as soon he realized he was in Max's embrace, not his mother's, and he gazed up at her with astonished green eyes. His mouth formed a perfect 'o' in surprise.

"Huh… He usually doesn't like strangers," Brin said in a matter-of-factly tone, watching the two as she pulled herself into an upright position. She rested her arms on her knees and took a deep breath, ignoring the sharp pain shooting through her chest.

"Are you okay?" asked Max, handing Ben back to her sister.

Brin nodded, but her pursed lips and deep breaths betrayed her true pain. "I'll be fine."

"Well… if you ever need anything… ya know, to talk or maybe some babysitting help with little Ben… just stop by. Alright?"

"I will," replied Brin with a crooked smile.

Max stood and grinned back. "See ya around?"

"Yeah."

The younger X5 hesitated a moment, then bent down and gave Brin a hug. "I'm glad you're back," Max said with a rueful smile. "We're gonna need you."

"Damn straight you are!" exclaimed Brin wryly. She jumped in surprise as Ben began howling again, little fists flailing angrily. "Okay… okay…"

Max laughed and wandered off in search of her lover once gain. She found him at the back of the room, all by himself, sitting facing the wall. Not wanting to surprise him, she approached from the side and cleared her throat.

"You know, Max, I'm not quite sure what was going through my mind when I let that guy beat the living shit outta me," Alec said without moving. "I could've had him. I could've killed him…. I could've killed him before he killed us…"

The female X5 extended a hand to touch his shoulder, but decided against it at the last moment.

Without missing a beat, Alec continued, "I could've prevented so much if I had just gotten my head in the game. Lydecker always said…"

"Lydecker," interrupted Max, "was a sadistic asshole."

Alec turned around and gazed at her with red eyes. "Max, he snuck up on us on our own turf. I should've sensed him! I should've been able to prevent everyone from dying today."

Max sat down and took her lover's hand. "Alec… there's nothing any of us could've done. I mean… we were all out there, having a good time… We were just relaxing for once."

"It… it's just… damn it, Max… I hate whoever the fuck is responsible for this," Alec said, curling into a fetal position on the bed.

"So do the rest of us, Alec. It's not your fault… it's not my fault… it's nobody's fault that those people died," comforted Max, pulling his head into her lap. "No one thinks any less of everybody else…" She stroked his hair and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

They had been sitting like that for a few minutes and Max, emotionally exhausted, had nearly fallen asleep when someone placed a hand on her shoulder. "Yes?" she asked, not turning around.

"Max, you're not gonna believe this…"

Max turned her head and looked up at Krit. "What?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"You have _got_ to be kidding me," yelled Max as she stormed through the dark streets of Terminal City, pulling on her leather jacket. "_Please_ tell me you're joking."

"I'm not," replied Krit. "See for yourself."

Max and Alec exchanged uncertain expressions.

They came to a dark, crumbling building and Krit opened the door, allowing Max and Alec to step across the threshold before entering himself. He led them through the darkness, weaving between rotting crates and abandoned equipment until they reached the opposite end of the large room, where some of the X5 siblings from '09 were gathered around a torch held by Zack. They were all turned inward, staring at something in the middle of the group.

Max tapped Jondy on the shoulder and the older X5 sister moved out of the way, followed by the rest of the X5s—it was like the parting of the Red Sea. "Holy shit," whispered Max, shaking her head at the person sitting in the chair before her.

His face was covered in thin scars and his hair was grayer than before, but there was no mistaking this snakelike man… This man that had caused Max's entire life to be a living hell… This man who was responsible for the death of Tinga, Eva, and Jack…

"Lydecker," Max growled through clenched teeth. She walked up and punched him, _hard_.

Zane quickly grabbed her arms. "Max! Calm down!"

Max spat at Lydecker's feet. "What the hell is _he_ doing _here_?"

"He was sneaking around the perimeter fence," answered Syl, going around behind 'Deck and looking him over almost curiously.

"I was trying to get in," Lydecker suddenly interrupted, the mere sound of his voice making all the X5s jump. "After all, I had heard that the National Guard thought the transgenic defense weak and unorganized. I was disappointed in my kids."

"Cut the bullshit," Max yelled, breaking loose of Zane's grip and angrily stomping up to the colonel. "Tell us why you're here, or we can have a replay of what happened the last time we had you tied up."

Zack slammed the clip into a gun and pointed it at him.

"And you know he won't hesitate to pull the trigger," declared Max with a smirk. "Now explain why you have decided to come back from the grave and haunt us."

"I was never dead," Lydecker began, staring around at them. "I escaped the men chasing me by playing dead and floating down the river. I had plans of coming back and helping you and Logan, but something came up… I assume you've all heard of the Familiars?"

"Only what Max told us," replied Jondy.

"Yes, well the Familiars were on my tail day and night. Whenever I turned around, they were there. I have not had a good night's sleep in months. They were bent on finding out where you all were and how they could catch you… and then, one day, it all stopped. I lost track of them and I thought that I had finally gotten rid of them…" He sighed. "But, a few days later, I saw Max's face plastered on every news stand in the nation. I located this place, this 'Terminal City,' and came here to help you."

"You can't help us," growled Zack. "We don't need your help."

"Is that so?" Lydecker snapped. "Don't be so sure of yourselves. Just ask your friend 494. He knows."

They all turned to look at Alec, who was staring at the ground, refusing to meet their gaze.

"You have no idea what your bodies are capable of doing," explained the colonel, drawing attention back to himself. "Nine years of training was not nearly enough for you to learn how to use your… _powers_ to their full extent. 494 is smarter, faster, and better than the rest of you because he got that extra ten years. He knows what you're all capable of. Isn't that right, 494?"

"Will you stop bothering him?" barked Max. "His name is Alec."

Lydecker looked in between them suspiciously, but didn't press the matter. "I can teach you. I can show you how to be better than you already are."

"Thanks, 'Deck, but we've made it alright thus far," Syl sneered, glaring at him.

"No… you guys, he's right," interrupted Alec, surprising everyone. "After you guys left, we were shown what we could really do… it's amazing. It would really help us… all of us… if you would let him teach you a thing or two."

Lydecker gave the rest of the X5s a cocky grin. "Listen to him. He is, after all, one of your own. A Ben replacement, I might say."

Zack punched him so hard the chair almost toppled over. "Don't you _ever_ say his name again, you bastard," he warned, and none of the others moved to stop him.

"We'll think about your offer," declared Max, resisting the urge to smile as Lydecker spat blood and bits of tooth. "Alec, can you watch him?"

"Sure thing," he replied, accepting the gun from Zack.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"I don't like it. He's up to something. Lydecker is _always_ up to something," growled Zane, shaking his head.

"He _did_ help us back when we destroyed the lab," piped Krit tentatively. "I mean, it took a lot of nerve for him to do that. We practically blew up his life's work."

"That's right," Zack agreed. "But Logan _did_ have to put him at gunpoint… and he betrayed us about five times before he cooperated."

"Never thought tough guy Zack would be the voice of reason," grumbled Zane, shooting Zack a glare.

Max looked in-between them and placed a hand on Zane's chest. "Hey! Stop it! We need to think long and hard about this!" She glanced over her shoulder at Lydecker. "He has the same enemies as us… and there are hundreds of us here. We could have someone watching him all the time."

"Keep your friends close, keep your enemies closer," recited Syl, crossing her arms over her chest.

"He taught us that, you guys… and I don't know about you, but it's one of the things I've been able to use," added Krit hesitantly. He licked his lips, all of a sudden feeling like the traitorous teacher's pet.

"All in favor of letting 'Deck show his worth?" Max raised her arm and stared down her obviously reluctant siblings.

Krit, Jondy, Zack, and Syl raised their arms in support.

"Zane, he's all we got," reasoned Jondy with a sigh.

"Alright… but if he so much as looks at us the wrong way… "He's dead."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"I remember you," Lydecker said to Alec, narrowing his already slit-like eyes. "You haven't changed a bit, 494."

Alec gave him a sideways glance. "You were always with Max's unit; hardly ever with mine until they ran away. We were the trouble makers that could never quite live up to the infamous oh-niners, remember 'Deck? Hm?"

Lydecker laughed dryly. "You kids and your attitudes," he said, sounding for all the world like an amused father. "Yes, but you were one of Manticore's _best_ soldiers. You and X5-599… You both are the image of perfection in the Xs. The X6s were not as strong. The X7s were deprived of all independent though … and the X8s… they were designed to work by sheer force, no brain power. You were everything we wanted a soldier to be."

"Still am," growled Alec. "And listen here, 'Deck, I'm not your ally so don't even start to formulate a plan that has anything to do with me. I won't help you. None of us will."

"You never change, you kids," mused Lydecker with a chuckle. "Even at age five, you were always trying to outthink your opponent, trying to peg him on what's going through his mind… it's made you a formidable adversary, 494, always has."

Alec opened his mouth to say something, but the other X5s came returned before he could speak.

"Okay, here's the deal," announced Max, leaning close to Lydecker. "You are kept under 24-hour watch. You do nothing without the permission of your assigned watcher. You don't sleep unless they say you can. You don't eat unless they say you can. You don't piss unless they say you can. Got it? And if you try anything funny, or even cause suspicion that you are about to double-cross us…" She gestured to the gun in Zack's hand. "We'll blow your brains out. Capisce?"

"I understand," Lydecker replied. "Will you release me now?" He pulled at his handcuffs, which were a little too tight—and by no accident, that was for sure.

 "Alright… let the rat go, but keep the cuffs handy. Who wants first watch?" asked Max, glancing around.

"I'll do it," volunteered Jondy, shooting 'Deck a glare. "I haven't had a chance to spend time with dear old Lydecker in years!" She grabbed him by the scruff of his collar. "I'm sure we'll have _loads_ of fun."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Max walked home alone that night, since Alec had gone off to do some planning with the other X5s and promised to be home in half an hour. She didn't really feel like facing any more reality today and had excused herself. As she was going down a particularly shaded street, she saw a shadowed figure huddled on the sidewalk. Approaching, the X5 quickly realized that it was Eddie, sitting on some crumbling steps with her arms resting on her knees. Tears ran unchecked down her cheeks and strangled, pitiful whimpering sounds spilled from her lips. It was the first time that Max had seen the girl without her doting boyfriend by her side.

"Eddie?" Max stopped a few feet away from the adolescent. "Eddie, what's wrong?"

"Get away from me," snapped the teenager, turning away from the X5. "Just leave me alone."

"Hey, don't be like that," said Max with narrowed eyes. "Come on, tell me what's wrong." She took a seat on the step next to the 'nomlie. "Please?"

Eddie sniffled, but didn't say anything.

"Fine." Max stood with a cross look on her face. "But don't say I didn't try."

She took no more than two steps when Eddie's voice stopped her: "They're dead."

Max spun on her heel and returned to the step, slowly sinking beside the distraught teen. "I know… I know." She hesitantly touched the girl's shoulder. "But that doesn't mean you can't still live."

"Shit, Max," sobbed the feline teen. "What am I supposed to do now? Hank and Junky are dead, Axle won't ever be the same, and Pick and I just had a big fight and I don't know what to do and…" She took her head in her hands and rocked back and forth, crying freely.

"Wait, you and Pick had a fight?" asked Max turning the teen to face her. She softened at the look of heartbreak in the girl's eyes. "Hey, it'll be okay." She placed a finger beneath the girl's chin and tipped her head upwards. "I can't have you giving up on us now. You can't, because if you do, then how can I rely on these other losers? Huh?" She received a half-hearted smile for her efforts. "Look, Eddie… we'll work this out. You'll see. In the end, everything will be okay—Axle will be okay, you and Pick will be okay, and Hank and Junky won't have died without a purpose, okay? Understand me?"

Eddie nodded and sniffled. "Yeah… I understand." She paused long enough to cough a few times and compose herself slightly. "Hey Max?"

"Yeah?"

The girl's self-control finally crumpled and she began to sob again, her head falling into her palms and her shoulders slumping. "H…Hold m…me?"

Surprised, Max took the girl into her arms like a mother would do for a child that had just fallen and scraped her knees. It was odd how attached she had become to this girl in such a short amount of time—usually, it took her months to get used to a person. She gave Eddie an affectionate kiss on the head and comforted, "You'll be okay. You'll be just fine."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Later, Max brought Eddie back to the apartment with her. The girl was very obviously exhausted—emotionally and physically—and it wouldn't do to let her go home herself, especially if Pick was on the warpath. And now that Max was thinking about it, she didn't even know _where_ Eddie slept at night. A pang of guilt hit her as she looked around the cozy apartment living room. She needed to work on that. As she was laying Eddie on the bed, Alec appeared in the doorway, looking positively beat. He looked at their guest questioningly, too pooped to even speak.

"She had a fight with Pick," explained Max as she slipped off Eddie's sneakers, which had definitely seen better times. "We can share the couch, can't we?"

Alec seemed to perk up at that idea. "It's pretty ratty, but I think we'll manage… don't you?"

Max smiled at him as she replied, "Yeah, I think we'll be just fine."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Brin shivered as she walked home in the darkness of Last Hope, the only light being the moon and stars. She had wrapped baby Ben in her jacket to keep him warm, and now the chilly night air was biting into her skin like knives. Glancing down at the sleeping bundle, her heart warmed, but not enough to drive away the biting cold.

"Hey! Brin! Wait up!"

The female X5 stopped and turned to see Zane jogging towards her. She gave him a light smile as she waited for him to catch up. "Hey."

A crooked smile pulled at his handsome features, he returned the word, "Hey." A pause. "I, uh, didn't think it was right that you're walking home alone. Would you mind a little company?"

Brin continued walking, though this time at a more leisurely pace. "I can take care of myself, Zane."

"I know… but you don't have to," he replied, this time with a wide grin. He shrugged off his leather jacket and gingerly placed it over her slim shoulders. "Here. You need it more than me."

"Thank you." Brin smiled wide at her green-eyed companion. He was younger than her by almost a year, and ever since the escape, she kept him in her thoughts as the trickster of the group, always finding a way to annoy Zack or make fun of Jace… not as the strikingly handsome man walking at her side. Out of the corner of her eye, she watched him, and felt as if this was the first time since the escape that they had really had a chance to talk… and for the most part, it was true.

Meanwhile, Zane was watching Brin as well. He laced his hands behind his back as the walked in relative silence. She was short, only about 5' 2", but for what stature she lacked she made up in her voluptuous curves, which he guessed were lingering effects of her pregnancy. He frowned as she noticed she still seemed a little cold and put his arm around her. "Better?" he asked.

"You don't have to do that," she replied, her eyes never leaving the ground.

"Of course I do, Brinnie." He smiled and kissed her on the head. "Remember that training mission where Lydecker made us go outside during a blizzard wearing nothing but those hospital gowns? I was a total wuss… Remember what you did when you found me?"

Brin grinned nervously. "How could I forget?"

Zane laughed as he stared up at the sky, the memory playing like a movie through his mind.

734 stared down at 205, blinking the snow from her eyes. She looked around for any of her other siblings, but they were nowhere to be found  in the blizzard. 205 was curled up in a ball in a snow bank and not moving. 734 went over to one of the pine trees and pulled off a few branches, covering 205 with them then sliding underneath with him. He hugged her close and their body heat, combined with the makeshift tent provided by the pine branches, saved 205 from freezing to death.

"Scared the shit outta me," declared Zane. "That a girl was lying there in a hospital gown next to me."

Brin laughed. "Zane, we were six."

"Yes, and girls had… COOTIES!" he cried, throwing his arms in the air.

"Really?" Brin narrowed her eyes at him and grinned mischievously. "Then consider yourself infected." She gave him a quick peck on the hand.

"Aaah! Cooties!" yelled Zane, jerking his arm away and taking a few steps backwards.

Brin's almond-shaped eyes widened. "Uh… Zane…"

Zane gave her a quizzical look, and then the sidewalk disappeared from underneath his foot and he started falling backwards. Brin jumped forward and grabbed his hand, yanking him back up onto the sidewalk. There was little sidewalk left for him to steady himself on, however, and he ended up wrapping both arms around Brin's waist in an effort to stay standing, but was careful of baby Ben nestled in the pack on her chest. They stayed like that awhile, each too stunned to move, before Ben finally decided to break the silence by grabbing onto Zane's necklace. Brin and Zane looked down simultaneously, bumping heads.

"Ow!" they shouted in unison.

Ben giggled.

"You like that, huh?" asked Zane, poking Ben's pudgy cheek. He looked up at the baby's mother and smiled. "Cute kid. Hate to say he doesn't bear too much resemblance to you besides the dark hair…"

Brin shrugged. "Looks like his father."

"Ah… right. That's too bad… his mother's absolutely gorgeous," he said quietly, almost whispering.

"Are you flirting with me, Mr. Girls-have-cooties?" asked Brin.

"Maybe…"

A few moments later, Brin realized something and said, "Zane?"

"Yes?"

"You can remove your hands from my ass now."

Zane flushed dark red and quickly unwrapped his arms from her waist, moving a few feet away in embarrassment. Brin laughed and kissed him on the cheek, pulling his arm over her shoulder once again. They got their first taste of what it was like to be… well, normal, as they walked home, laughing and remembering 'old times.'

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


	7. Blah Blah Meow Meow

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters in this story that appear in the hit syndicated TV show, Dark Angel, owned and created by James Cameron. I do, however, own any and all original characters that appear in this work of fan fiction. 

Summary: The shit has hit the fan and now the transgenic can only train and wait for the oncoming attack they know is coming. Life goes on for the younger transgenics, however; love abounds between some while other relationships are torn to shreds. Meanwhile, Ames White returns to the transgenic scene and finds that he has a whole new deck of cards to play when he meets Colonel Briggs.

The Siege 

****

by

Brin 

"Hope is for losers. It's a con job people trip behind till they finally get a grip on the cold, hard truth." –Max

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

_Hard times can do stuff to a person_. _I don't know what went on with Eddie and Pick_,_ but whatever it was_… _it was bad_. _They were the teenagers_'_ premier couple around here_—_the coolest kids in school_, _I guess you could say_. _So what happened_? _It's like the breakup of America's sweethearts. I guess I'll find out sooner or later_… _and hopefully things won't end up with Eddie on one side of the fence and Pick on the other. You need someone to lean on when things get bumpy._

Chapter 7: Blah Blah Meow Meow 

The next morning, things had cooled off considerably as the transgenics settled half into a mourning period, and half into a mood of quiet, boiling anger; a need for retribution. They didn't shout and scream and stomp their feet and beat their hands like Ordinaries did in times of rage—no. They were transgenics… genetically empowered, and they took what came to them. Silently, impassively, they accepted that you couldn't change what enemies had done in the past… only kill them in the future. Now their fury would fester and grow until their chance came, and they would be more than ready for that opportunity. All they had to do was wait—and they were, without a doubt, much better at waiting than Ordinaries.

At Max's apartment, personal lives weren't much better. Eddie had only slept for a couple of hours, and now she sat rigid in Max's bed, angst-ridden and silent. She had accepted a glass of water and a cracker, but otherwise hadn't moved since waking. Max was worried for the girl's sanity. So much trauma in one day could do a number on someone's head, even if that someone was a transgenic. She avoided leaving the girl alone.

From his position in the doorway, Alec contemplated the situation. He had been watching Eddie carefully, studying her. Her soft brown eyes were perfectly still, filled with a world weariness that no seventeen-year-old should feel. The bags under her eyes contested to her lack of sleep and served to make her appear sickly. Silent tears ran down her face. Her hands were limp on the bed. It broke his heart to see her like this, and he barely knew the girl. With a sigh, he pushed off from the doorframe and rested his hands on Max's shoulders. "I'm going to go talk to Pick and try to find out what happened. Now's not the time for us to be giving up on each other," he declared, giving Eddie a slight nod.

The girl's eyes flickered to his face in acknowledgement, but she did nothing else.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After talking to almost every transgenic in the city, Alec pinned Pick's location to a room in the hotel where he had fought 205. This time, there was no guard at the door. He ascended the steps to the floor Pick was supposedly staying at—the 'main' floor—and was surprised to find only a few X's milling about the halls. They gave him sheepish glances before darting out of sight. Most of the doors were open, and as Alec passed them, he caught glimpses of X series kids playing cards and reading books and talking quietly. A melancholy feeling was in the air, but there was no crying, no sobbing or screaming. The kids were all leaning on each other for comfort; a safety net of support made by their peers. This was what Eddie and Pick needed.

He found Pick's apartment at the end of the hall. The door was locked, so he knocked twice, waited half a second, then shrugged and kicked the damn thing open. It hit the wall with such force that the plaster cracked. The X5 coolly stepped inside the room and glanced around. The windows were boarded up and the floor had no carpet, just sticky cement that not even a transgenic would step on barefoot.

Pick was lying on a cot in the middle of the room, staring up at the ceiling expressionlessly. Stubble was poking out all over his face and his once-white t-shirt was stained with… well, Alec guessed it was alcohol because the room positively _reeked_ of it.

"You. Explain. Now," Alec instructed, pulling up a two-legged chair and sitting down. It teetered dangerously for a second, then settled.

"What the hell do you want?" moaned Pick with disinterest. He threw an arm over his eyes.

"What the hell happened last night? Hm? What the fuck made you two so mad that you are willing to do this to each other?" demanded Alec, his lips pursed into a grim line. "Everyone in the city knows how much you two love each other. You two are classic lovebirds." His voice lost some of its angry edge as he whispered, "True love is a hard thing to find."

"True love?" The X6 slowly sat upright. "True love? That's what you call it now? I thought cruel and unusual punishment was against the law."

Alec narrowed his eyes at the nine-teen-year-old. He clenched and unclenched his jaw as carefully censored everything he wanted to come out of his mouth. "Pick, don't be this way, man. Don't give up. There's enough of that in this fucked up world."

"Eddie and I are over and that's it. It's finished. Finito," growled Pick as he lay back down. "Not that I care."

"Yes, you do. I can see it in your eyes," snapped Alec, leaping to his feet. "You think this is gonna come easy, huh? You think just because you're a transgenic, things should come easy to you? Is that it?"

"Fuck you!"

Alec grabbed Pick's arm and lifted the adolescent to his feet in one swift movement, which surprised the X6 out of fighting back. He stared into Pick's defiant eyes and began, quietly at first, but with increasing intensity, "If you give up on your true love, Pick, your life will fall apart. You guys had a fight, so what? Those things happen. Give up now, and what do you have to live for? Nothing. Not one fucking thing… and, if you do throw the towel in, you're less of a man than I thought you were." He forcefully shoved the teen backwards. "You'll just be a punk who couldn't cut it."

Pick held Alec's stare for a second or two, then turned his gaze to the floor. He absently rubbed his shoulder where Alec had pushed him as he replied in a small, almost childlike voice, "I told her that it was the 'nomlies fault Ordinaries want to kill us."

"You _what?_" blurted the X5.

"I blamed it on her, okay?! I blamed it on her, I blamed it on Axle, I blamed it on every 'nomlie in the city! That's what I did! You happy now?" shouted Pick. "How am I supposed to fix that, Alec? What's your super secret wise man knowledge say now?"

Alec's resolve was wavering now. This was as bad as he thought it would be, and that wasn't comforting. He licked his lips nervously, trying not to convey his sudden uncertainty. "Pick…"

The teen was pacing back and forth now. "She told me I was a fucking asshole and left. I didn't know what to do. I don't know what to do…" Tears were stinging his eyes now. He rubbed at them, but they kept coming so he finally just collapsed against the wall, sliding down it into a sitting position. "I just wanna tell her that I'm sorry," choked out the X6.

Genuinely moved by this blatant show of emotion, Alec approached the X6 and held out his hand. "Well there you go. Let's stop by and see how our women are doing, how about it, kid?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Alec and Pick walked silently towards the place where their girlfriends were hiding out. The new, brotherly bond between them seemed to calm Pick's nerves a bit, though the tension in the X6's demeanor was unmistakable.

"If you're worried, then maybe I should go in first," suggested Alec, hopping over a fallen beam. He jammed his hands in his jacket pockets and tossed a glance in the direction of the X6. _The kid looks like shit_, he thought idly.

"Wouldn't help much," replied Pick with a depressed sigh, rubbing the stubble on his chin.

The X5 was about to reply, but was suddenly interrupted by a loud sound. He turned his eyes to the sky and was stunned to see helicopters coming their way—a whole _fleet_ of them. "What the hell?" he said aloud, skidding to a halt. Was it an attack? "Shit!"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ames White watched the helicopters flying over his head towards Terminal City and sighed, shaking his head. "S1W assholes," he mumbled, pulling out his cell phone and dialing a number.

_"Speak,"_ commanded the icy voice of the Familiar elder priestess.

"This place is worse than back at the hostage situation," White yelled over the chanting of the crowd. "We've got anti-transgenic and a few pro-transgenic mobs running around burning things."

"The Conclave has requested that you stay down there, or at least have someone posted there at all times. Our opportunity could come at any time, and we would be most disappointed if we missed it. This is your once chance to redeem yourself, Ames. Fail and your life is up for negotiation."

White frowned as the line ended. "Great. Otto!" he called. The Hispanic man trotted over, and he ordered in a low voice, "I want a constant watch on the area. Wouldn't do for something to go down without our knowledge."

Otto nodded. "I'll get right on it, Sir."

As Otto walked away, White noticed the military-issue Hummer sitting inside the barricades. Standing next to the Hummer were thirteen young adults, dressed for full combat and holding automatics. A man in his midthirties wearing a custom-tailored suit was talking to them. Ames closed his cell and walked past the barricades, flashing his badge to the Guardsman who tried to stop him. As he neared the group, one of them broke off and blocked his way.

"Excuse me, Sir, do you have clearance?" asked the young woman, who looked to be about 18.

Ames looked her in the eye and held up his badge. "Special Agent In-Charge White. I would like to speak to your superior," he announced in a openly bored tone.

The soldier turned and walked back to the older man and whispered in his ear. After a few moments, the superior said something back and walked up to White. "Special Agent In-Charge White," greeted the dark-skinned man, looking White up and down over his sunglasses. "Colonel Briggs. To what do I owe this pleasure?"

"Who do you work for?" asked White, ignoring Briggs' salutation.

"That is highly classified information, Sir, and I don't think you have that kind of clearance," Briggs replied coolly. He crossed his arms over his chest and smirked.

"Look, I know those kids are Manticore. Why else would they be here?"

The smirk disappeared from the colonel's face. He glanced around to make sure no one else was listening, then suggested through clenched teeth, "Let's talk."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Four hundred armed transgenics hid behind debris and inside windows as ten black helicopters touched down in a clear street. Max, who had made sure to get a Kevlar vest from the supply room, was the only one to show herself. She waited until the helicopter turned off before approaching it.

There were people—not soldiers, but _normal_ people dressed in _normal_ clothes—sitting inside one of the choppers, and they jumped out as soon as it touched down. Only one of them had a familiar face, and of all people it had to be—

"Asha," breathed Max, shaking her head in disbelief as she walked up to the blonde woman. "What the hell are you doing here?!"

Asha grinned and held out her pale hand. "Good to see you alive, too, Max."

Max shook Asha's hand with a sigh, though the gesture was obligatory. She cast a nervous glance over the blonde woman's shoulder at the other armed S1W members. "What are you doing here?" she repeated.

"S1W then saw what you were doing here and decided to help out. We've got enough food to feed an army of a thousand for two weeks, clothing and blankets, and enough bullets and ammo to arm every transgenic in this God-forsaken place," explained the blonde woman coolly. 

"You're kidding, right?" asked Max, looking at the helicopters. "You fit all that in those?"

"Took out a few things and had no co-pilot in a few of the birds… but we managed," Asha replied with a slight shrug, as if this was no big thing. "Happy to see me _now_?"

Max, shocked beyond words, stepped forward and _hugged_ Asha.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Inside the hummer, Briggs took a seat behind a table that served as his desk while Ames sat in the ugly plastic chair in front of it. Briggs was obviously on the verge of losing it. Sweat beads were forming on his brow. "Who are you? How do you know about Manticiore?" he demanded.

White sat back in his chair, lacing his hands behind his head. Briggs obviously thought that he had been had—and Ames was content to let the man think that for as long as possible. White yawned before replying, "That depends. Can you keep a secret?"

"It's my job," snapped Briggs a little more shrilly than he intended. He cleared his throat to cover it up.

Ames smirked at the man, his face the cool, dispassionate mask that he wore almost all the time. In a level voice, he began, "What would you say if I told you I had my own army of genetically-enhanced super soldiers? Ones with powers Manticore only _dreamed_ of? More than Manticore could ever attempt to create?"

Briggs grew still. "You're crazy."

"I can _give_ you ten extra super-soldiers to work with," said White, raising his eyebrows. "All I need you to do is go in there with your kids and kill every single transgenic you find… including one in particular." He placed a picture of Sam on the table. 

Briggs looked at the picture closely. "X5-452. Blew up the Seattle facility. Leader of the transgenics. There's a big bounty on that pretty little head."

"Kill her, and you'll find fifty million dollars in your bank account the next morning. That's what? Fifty times as much as the bounty," prodded Ames. He could practically see the dollar signs flashing in Briggs's eyes. 

Colonel Briggs stared at White for a long while, weighing everything up in his mind. It all came down to one word: yes. He stood and shook hands with the man across the table. "You've got yourself a deal. Now get me your soldiers."

"I'll put in a request. It shouldn't take more than a few days, Colonel… and then you'll be living the life." Deliberately leaving that thought in Briggs's head, Ames turned on his heel and exited the vehicle. He passed a contemptuous glace in the direction of the Manticorian soldiers, then left the scene. It was a good day for a few rounds of golf.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

With the help of most everyone in Terminal City, they were able to quickly unload the huge crates of food and ammunition. Most of the food was canned and boxed goods so that they were able to pack the food tightly and stuff more in. The S1W had gone way out of their league by also transporting nine X-series into the city along with the supplies. They even left behind a black hawk, two little birds, and three apaches—each equipped with missiles and machine guns.

"Thanks, Asha," said Max, giving the blonde woman another hug before she left. "This is what we needed."

"Stay strong, Max," replied Asha with a wide grin. She passed her eyes over the huge crowd of transgenics gathered to see them off, and allowed herself a pleased sight. "You people are special." And with that, she turned on her heel and entered a chopper.

Max jogged a safe distance away, coming to stand next to Jondy, and watched with a relaxed smile as they choppers flew away. "Now _that_ was a surprise," she said, her eyes still toward the sky.

"Guess there _are _some good-hearted Ordinaries out there after all," replied Jondy, putting her hand on Max's shoulder. Then, as if an afterthought, she added, "Lydecker wants to see us. It's the first day of training."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Lydecker tossed a set of fatigues to each of the Xs in-training—Max, Zack, Krit, Jondy, Zane, and Brin. "Put these on. The S1Ws were smart—supplied us with military issue clothes. It'll be easier for you to learn in these outfits," said the colonel. The X5s didn't move. "You waiting for someone to give the starting shot? Get to it!"

Reluctantly, the X5s began removing their civilian clothes in exchange for the gray t-shirts and camo pants. Max, who was standing in-between Zack and Jondy, couldn't help but notice the looks of embarrassment they gave each other. She glanced at Zack and, with a laugh, realized why. Zack's back was covered in fresh red scratch-marks.

Brin whistled teasingly, then laughed as Zack quickly pulled the t-shirt over his head. "I think someone's been a little busy lately," she announced nonchalantly.

Jondy and Zack turned bright red, but said nothing.

"That's enough," barked Lydecker, causing the X5s to impulsively snap to attention. "Now, I want you all to concentrate. We don't have all the time in the world. The Centurion attack could come at any moment. Realize this and use it to your advantage." He looked at Alec, who stepped forward. "Lesson one. Take this scenario: You're on the ground with a foot, an arm, and elbow—_something_ pressed into your neck. The attacker is out of reach of your arms and there is no way to twist free without snapping your spine. Have you been beaten? Yes? No," Lydecker declared. "471 and 494, please demonstrate."

Alec lay on the floor and Krit placed his foot right on Alec's Adam's apple, holding him down.

"There's something 494 can do to remove 471 from his dominant position. 494… please demonstrate."

Shooting Krit an apologetic look, Alec folded himself up like an open book being shut, his feet able to touch his face, and kicked Krit in the knees, causing his legs to buckle and his entire body to come crashing down. The simple act looked strange and definitely painful. The other X5s winced.

"Now I want you all to try this. It's harder than it looks," said Lydecker dispassionately.

So they paired off and got down on the floor, attempting to do what Alec had just done with, seemingly, the utmost ease… but _attempt_ was the key word. Lydecker watched with detached interest, shaking his head and muttering to himself as they strained themselves again and again, but to no avail.

Precious minutes ticked by, and Lydecker was getting more annoyed with the passing seconds. He waved his arms and interrupted, "Alright, that's enough. The definition of insanity, people, is doing the same thing over and over expecting different results. You all are, by definition, insane. Now, watch again." He looked at Alec, who had resumed his position on the floor.

Alec folded himself up again, this time touching his toes to the top of his head. "The trick is the extra vertebrae at the bottom of your spine. If you know how to do it, you can actually unhinge this bone and the three above it without causing yourself pain. X5s have extra muscles in their backs that will do this for you. Concentrate on the muscles of your back and you should be able to find the correct combination of muscle contractions and relaxes," explained the X5 without unfolding from his position.

"Try again," ordered Lydecker sternly. "Slowly, carefully. Concentrate."

With sighs of frustration, the X5s went back to work. Thirty minutes, four sore backs, and several angry comments later, they had all gotten the 'back trick' down to an art. Lydecker was trying not to show his pride as he coached them, but the slight grin on his face gave all of it away—not very characteristic, especially coming from their favorite, generally stone-faced colonel. After they had all become bored with trying out their newfound 'powers', Lydecker continued the training without commenting on their success.

"Alright, second lesson. This one involves more mind power than super power. 494 can't demonstrate this, but it will require you to spar with each other." He began pacing back and forth in front of the line of X5s. "When you're fighting someone, hand-to-hand or with guns three hundred yards away, the only way you can tell what's coming is if you suddenly receive supernatural, mind-reading powers, right? Wrong.

"The X series are trained from age 12 in psychological warfare, a term not commonly used. When you fight someone, you must be aware of three things: One-their eyes; where are they looking. Two-the air around them; what direction is it shifting. And three-how they hold themselves; are they tilted in one direction or the other? All these things are essential. 494, tell them why these things are important."

Alec stepped forward and began, "The mind works in simple ways. Usually, when you're thinking about something or someone, you look at that something or someone. Using this, when your opponent's eyes focus left, they are probably planning on attacking your right side. This, however, cannot be applied when the opponent's eyes to do not focus. It has been proven that people look certain directions when making up lies and when telling the truth. So, therefore, if your opponent is simply glancing in another direction… they're not necessarily gonna move that way.

"As for 'number two', it's all about breathing. If you concentrate, you can feel the air moving as they breathe. That's one of the things about Xs that earns them the right to be called genetically empowered. When fighting, people will tilt their heads in the direction they like to move. X5s have powerful methods of sensing air patterns and disturbances in the atmosphere… you just have to concentrate. If you can sense the way their breathing patterns are affecting the air waves, you can predict their next move.

"And on the subject of how they hold themselves, that can tell you their fighting style. Do they go high or low? Watch the legs to see how they bend. Are they bold or cautious? Watch the amount of distance they put between themselves and you. There's a long list of things, but I'm fairly sure you guys have fought enough to know what I'm talking about."

The X5s nodded, a bit taken back by this claim to power and Alec's knowledge of it.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jondy blocked Max's fist and shoved her back, kicking her across the face. Max leapt over Jondy's next kick and landed on her hands, momentarily doing a handstand before flipping to her feet. She ducked a reckless punch and tackled Jondy around the waist, knocking them both to the floor. They slid a few feet then began to wrestle, rolling across the floor as they did. Max managed to pin Jondy down by sitting on her stomach and putting both knees on Jondy's elbows, which Jondy soon learned was quite painful.

"Give?" panted Max.

Jondy used the back trick and kicked Max off of her, then rolled to her feet. She allowed Max to stand and they began circling each other warily. Max put all the aspects of her new training together and stared into Jondy's eyes, watched the way she held herself, and concentrated on the air around her. Jondy's icy blue orbs were concentrated on her left shoulder blade. She held herself in a strong stance, as if ready to charge. Her head was tilted to the right. Jondy was doing the same thing, watching her opponent, calculating her movements, and they ended up circling each other for a small eternity before one of them finally made a move.

Jondy shouted a cry in an attempt to distract her psuedo sister as she ran forward so quickly that she was merely a blur heading towards Max.

Max, at the last moment, ducked and thrust her foot out, dodging Jondy's fist and tripping her sister. Jondy slid across the floor and into the wall, where she lay still.

"Jon? Jondy!" cried Max, running over to see if she was seriously hurt. She turned her sister over to find that Jondy was laughing so hard her face was turning red.

"That was… sooo… good, Max," panted the older X5, her feet kicking up and down as she laughed.

Max smiled and helped her sister to her feet. "Nice moves."

Jondy nodded and stumbled over to Zack, who had been watching the entire thing since he had long since kicked Krit's ass. "Zack, baby, did you see that? That was great!"

Zack grinned and hugged her. "Yeah, baby. You got your ass kicked," he joked wryly. He helped her sit down to try and slow her breathing, and she eventually stopped laughing and caught her breath once again.

"Are you done, soldier?" asked Lydecker, looking down at Jondy disapprovingly.

Jondy nodded and got to her feet, holding back a smile.

"Get back in your lines, soldiers," ordered the colonel, and the X5s quickly complied. "I have one more thing to teach you for today, then you can leave. You're obviously not up to get back into harsh training." He looked at Alec, who was nearly asleep leaning against a wooden crate. "494," he barked, "come here."

Reluctantly, Alec pushed himself off the crate and trotted over.

Lydecker turned to the other X5s. "You've been shot. The enemy thinks you're dead, but they want to be sure. You can't just sit there and wait for them to find out you're alive. What do you do? 494, show them."

Alec sighed and lay back down on the floor. He closed his eyes and, for the most part, didn't appear to be doing anything.

"Now, 210, check for his pulse. See if he's breathing."

Jondy knelt next to Alec and felt his neck. After a minute, she shook her head and moved her fingers a bit. A shocked look appeared on her face. "He… he's got no pulse!"

Lydecker grinned. "This is one of the most complicated X5 tricks in the book. Slow your heart down so that you can't even detect a pulse and stop breathing completely. You can wake up now, 494."

Alec opened his eyes and took a deep breath.

"Now, you try."

It took four hours for them to nail the pulse trick. Zack was the first to master it, then Krit, then Brin, then Zane, then Max, and finally Jondy. Lydecker let them get back to their lives as soon as he was sure they knew how to perform this ploy at a moment's notice, and they were glad to leave.

Alec and Max came up the stairs in their apartment building when they saw Pick standing outside their apartment door, gently tapping on it. They froze, turned around, and went back down the stairs. Pick and Eddie needed a little privacy.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Eddie was half asleep in the bedroom when she heard a knock on the door. Her eyes fluttering open, the girl propped herself up on her elbows and yawned. She then rose from the comfortable bed and headed to the front door. Cracking it open, the young woman peeked out for a split second before slamming it shut again.  "Go away," she said to the closed door.

Pick sighed and leaned his head against the door. "Aw, come on, baby. Just hear me out." Silence. "Look, I'm sorry. I don't know what came over me."

"That's a lame excuse, Pick. I'm not dumb and that isn't going to work."

"Just open the door."

There was a long, long silence, then the door slowly opened to reveal the wilting silhouette of his girlfriend. He felt his throat tighten with sorrow and self-repulsion at the expression on her face—a look of pure, undeniable hurt. Hurt that he had caused. A pang of guilt hit him in the chest like a knife, causing him to take a few deep breaths. Eddie moved from the doorway to the couch without giving him a second glance.

"Are you… are you okay?" asked Pick, quietly closing the door.

"No, Pick, I'm not okay all," she replied, her voice wavering. She looked up at him, tears shining in her eerie cat eyes. "Are you?"

Pick looked down at the floor guiltily. "Look, Eddie, last night I was torn up. I didn't know what to do. Everyone was crying and saying how we're gonna strike back and everything… and, for the first time in my life, I was scared. There's something out there that can kill fifty transgenics before being taken down. I was scared shitless and my instincts must've been acting up or something 'cause I had all this pent-up aggression. I just snapped. You've got to understand… I'm sorry." He moved forward and took a seat on the couch next to her. "I'm sorry, baby."

"I don't want to live my life with someone who's gonna hurt me—emotionally or physically," whispered Eddie slowly.

The X6's heart shattered upon hearing these words. "Is that what you think? That I'll do it again?" he asked, his voice breaking. The worst of it all was… she was right.

"Yes, that's what I think."

Pick grasped her tiny hands in his large ones and kissed her forehead as he whispered, "I would sooner kill myself than ever, ever hurt you again. I love you, and that's how it's always gonna be. I love you, baby. Please take me back, please. I don't know what I'm gonna do without you."

Eddie turned her head, but didn't pull away her hands. Instead, she leaned forward and rested her head on his strong shoulder. His arms instinctively went around her slim shoulders and he held her like that for what seemed like an eternity. Pick was too scared to speak, too afraid that his voice would break the moment and all this would end up as a dream, but when Eddie started purring he finally whispered, "Forgive me yet?"

The young woman turned and placed her hands on his arms. "Maybe." She tilted her head and touched his face. "You still haven't kissed me. To make this a proper Kodak moment, you have to seal it with a long, passionate, Soap Opera-worthy kiss."

"I do, huh?"

"Yep. We've stood here pouring out hearts out like an episode of a really bad Soap and now you are going to kiss me or I'm going to strangle you." She smiled sweetly and over-dramatically batted her eyelashes.

"Sounds good to me," Pick replied, leaning forward and wrapping his arms around her supple waist. "I love you, Eddie. I love you like this…" He kissed her, his body warming up to the caress of her warm tongue and the familiar sharpness of her teeth. "…with all my heart."

Eddie gave him a crooked grin and licked her lips, which were becoming red and swollen. A slightly dazed look came into her eyes as she replied, "You know, if the make up kiss is always going to be like that, we should fight more often."

Pick laughed, knowing that her humor meant all was forgiven, and cupped the side of her face. "Make up _kiss_? No, I had something much, much better in mind…" Removing his hand from her face, he grasped her hips and lifted her up so that her legs wrapped around his waist. "…Get the gist?"

"Oh, yeah. I get it." She pulled herself even closer to him and stroked his face with one hand, holding onto his neck with the other. "Shall we dance?"

"Yes please."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ames White finished negotiations with Colonel Briggs and exited the Hummer. One of the kids, a tall one with blonde hair and blue eyes, watched him with suspicious eyes as he walked away. "Damn transgenics," mumbled White. He pulled out his cell phone and dialed the elder priestess' number.

_"Speak,"_ she said on the other side of the line.

"Feno's tol," said Ames. "I got a VIP ticket to victory, along with backstage passes."

_"I don't have time for your word games,"_ said the priestess, irritated.

"Don't worry about a thing. I have it all under control. I will, however, be needing ten warriors to help me."

"_Of course. Whatever it takes to kill 452_."__

"Good. They'll be here in three days?"

_"Yes."_

"Alright. Feno's tol."

_"Feno's tol."_ Click.

Ames chuckled to himself as he closed his cell and looked at the still-chanting crowd. "Let's see you get yourself out of this one, _Max_."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


	8. Ames, Dames, and Video Games

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters in this story that appear in the hit syndicated TV show, Dark Angel, owned and created by James Cameron. I do, however, own any and all original characters that appear in this work of fan fiction. 

Summary: After the second day of training, the X5s are beginning to believe that they _may_ have the upper hand in this war, but when reports of Ames White lurking around the perimeter come in, Max orders all able soldiers to be on red-alert. The fighting begins.

The Siege 

By

Brin 

"They used to say one nuclear bomb can ruin your whole day. It was sort of a joke, until the June morning those terrorist bozos whacked us with an electromagnetic pulse from 80 miles up. You always hear people yapping on how it was all different before the Pulse. Land of milk and honey blah, blah, blah, blah with plenty of food and jobs and things actually worked. I was too young to remember, so, whatever...  The thing I don't get is why they call it a depression. I mean, everybody's broke... but they aren't really all that depressed. Life goes on." –Max****

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

_Ah_, _young love_. _How come I didn't get a boyfriend like Pick when I was seventeen_? _Oh well_. _I have Alec now. Enough said_. _Anyway, I'm glad things worked out between them… but I'm thinking we all have more bumps ahead of us. And, damn_… _they're gonna be doosies_.

**Chapter 8: Ames, Dames, and Video Games**

"Check."

"Checkmate."

"What?!"

"That means you can't move your king to safety."

"I hate this game!" Alec sat back in his chair and began to pout.

Max laughed and pumped her arm in the air a few times. "I am the queen, I am the queen. Pay your dues!" she said, snapping her fingers at the transgenics who had bet against her. She held out a weathered old baseball cap and they deposited their bottle caps.

Alec hung his head as the others yelled at him for losing. "Sorry, sorry!" he apologized, holding his arms up in surrender. "My bad!"

"Yeah, now get outta here. It's bedtime," insisted Max, pointing towards the apartment door. Grumbling about losing their money and sending Alec a few angry looks, the other transgenics filed out. As soon as they were gone, Max gave Alec a high-five.

"Good job. We just made two hundred bucks," he announced, hugging her. "You are the queen!"

"That was sleazy, unfair, and… fun!" exclaimed Max, dumping the bottle caps onto the table. "We could probably buy a _working_ TV with this."

"Oh, I would be in heaven if that was so," replied Alec, thinking about having their own private television. The only other ones in Last Hope were public and always set on the news.

Max gave him a mock hurt look. "Ouch. I'm less heavenly than a television? Puts me down there with the toaster ovens and gas grills."

Alec shook his head. "No, I'd say you're on the same level as the television…"

Max hit him on the head.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Alpha 748, come here," said Colonel Briggs.

A tall young man with sandy blonde hair and blue eyes marched over and saluted the colonel.

"You do understand the situation here, right?" asked Briggs, placing a hand on the Centurion's shoulder.

"Yes, Sir."

"There are thirteen of you. As you know, 875 never returned. We don't know if he's dead or alive, but we do have a tape of his last moments. You will watch the tape and remember every face that comes into view. When you find this face," he held up a picture of Sam, "you will study her—anything you can learn. Her fighting style, the people around her, anything. And when you go inside to terminate the transgenic problem, killing her is your _highest_ priority. Understand?"

"Yes, Sir!"

"Good." Briggs handed him the tape. "There is a police van next to the barricades in which you will be able to watch this. Dismissed, soldier."

Alpha 748 saluted him, then turned and marched off.

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The next morning, Max called a meeting of the city's leaders, her X5 brothers and sisters, Lydecker, Eddie and Pick, and Dix and Leg.

"Alright, Mole managed to map out the entire city and perimeter for us. He marked where the police are located and the weak spots in the fence. The debris isn't mapped, but he and a few worker-drone transhumans are clearing the streets around the clock," Max explained, waving her hand over a few spots on the map. "We need to set up strategic barricades that we'll use for cover while under attack. Dix and Leg, you guys are in charge of that. If you need help with the locations of the barricades, ask me and I'll give you an advisor.

"I also want barracks set up. We can't have the majority of our available soldiers sleeping in the most vulnerable building in the entire city. So far, Dix and Leg have recovered lots of tools, nails, screws, that kind of stuff. We do, however, have a shortage of usable wood, so when we choose buildings for barracks we have to pick the buildings with the least amount of damage. Baba, you're in charge of that.

"Styx, I need you to be in charge of creating a safe zone for the less-able soldiers—kids, pregnant females, the wounded. And by kids, I mean anyone under the age of eighteen—with the exception of Eddie and Pick, of course. Eddie and Pick, you two are in charge of keeping the X6s in shape. But remember, only the ones over 18. When the attack comes you guys will have full control over the X6s.

"Zack and Jondy, you're in charge of sentry watches and patterns. You're going to have to make it so that it'll take the enemy a very, very long time to figure out how to get past the sentries without just mowing them down," Max continued. "Brin and Zane, I need you two to regulate some kind of plan so that, if hell does break loose again, we won't have total and complete chaos, alright?

"Syl and Krit, I know you're gonna hate me for this, but you've got to work out how we're gonna protect the kids as a last resort. Alec and I were thinking about moving the black hawk to the middle of the safe zone and, if things get too bad you can get away like that. The black hawk is hard to see without its lights on, so you will be able to slip away without being noticed.

"The rest of us will be in charge of training. Everyone understand their orders?"

Unanimous nods.

"Then get going!"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Hit me!"

Zack lunged at Alec, who jumped back out of harm's way. "Come on, Zacky-boy. You haven't even gotten a punch! Hit me!" taunted Alec.

Aggravated, Zack launched himself at Alec again, only to fall a foot or two short for the umpteenth time. He stood up and sighed in frustration. "Okay, I give. What's the secret?"

Alec stepped back as Lydecker moved forward to explain, "494 wasn't actually performing a trick. He was just demonstrating the frustration you can feel in a situation like this. The secret lies in the fact that one of the scientists who created you was a big video game fan."

The X5s looked at him blankly.

Lydecker continued, "Before the Pulse there was this highly popular video game called Tekken. One of the mad scientists who made you had big dreams of seeing his characters come alive. Disturbing? Very. Helpful? Yes. You see, he gave you extra control over every skeletal muscle in your entire body. If you run and jump, you'll go pretty far. But if you run, jump, and duck at the same time, you'll go even farther. 494, demonstrate."

Alec walked all the way to a wall so that he had a lot of space in front of him. He took a deep breath and ran a meter or two forward, squatted down, and launched himself forward in one swift movement. The other X5s watched, amazed, as Alec flew at least ten meters over their heads. He would've gone farther, but he ran out of room and had to grab onto a chain hanging from the ceiling in order to avoid smashing into the wall. He swung back and forth twice before jumping off and landing neatly on the ground in a kneeling position.

"And that," said Lydecker, who actually looked impressed with Alec's show, "is how you could avoid the situation that Zack was in. One lunge like that, and your opponent is done fore." He ran his fingers through his graying hair as Alec returned. "Good job, 494. That was spectacular."

"All in a day's work, Sir," replied Alec half-seriously.

Lydecker nodded, and his eyes reflected a sort of fear that confused the other X5s, but they said nothing. "There are one or two more vital things I want to show you, then I'll let you go." He motioned Alec forward. "Okay, now pay attention. This is a worst-case-scenario survival trick."

Max shot Jondy a look, and Jondy replied with a shrug.

"494, if you'll remove your shirt," said Lydecker.

Alec winked at Max and obediently pulled off his gray t-shirt.

"Now, imagine this: you're the last hope of your unit. You're going solo, trying to retrieve the key to achieving victory, when you run across a single enemy with a gun. You don't have a gun and, since we're talking Centurions, the enemy will be quick enough to dodge you if you try to take their gun. So what do you do?" He pointed to Alec's collarbone. "Get shot in a place that's not fatal. You've been taught in pain tolerance and, if you perform this right, you'll be back in action pretty quickly. The key place that will throw an enemy off is here." He gestured to the general collarbone area. "You cannot get hit any lower than about a hand's length from the top of the shoulder. Anywhere in that area and you'll be feel some intense pain, but it won't be fatal and since it's in the chest area, you can use the heart trick to make them think you've been killed. Are we clear?"

"Sir, permission to speak, Sir!" shouted Zack.

"Permission granted. You have a question?"

"Won't these tricks be useless since the Centurions are probably taught the same things?" he asked.

Lydecker grinned. "And that's the beautiful thing. The Centurions are not taught the same things as you. Their trainers are focused mainly on their soldiers working by sheer force. And though they are stronger and faster than you, they don't have the same assets. They don't have that. So, when it comes down to strategic tricks, you may have a bit of an upper hand."

This was extremely good news, and the X5s felt a small wave of hope wash over them.

"Last, but not least," continued the colonel, "is a mind trick. Generally, when you fight someone you're either taunting them or you're both silent, right? Yes. But X5s have an extra set of vocal chords that enable them to create sounds that you might not hear everyday." He looked Brin up and down. "You, 734, I know that your chords are able to create the sound of a gunshot. Purse your lips together and, as loud as you can, yell a sound similar to 'pow.' You'll sound just like a handgun. Throws 'em off 99% of the time.

Brin did as she was told, causing Max and Krit, who were standing next to her, to jump in surprise. She sounded more like a shotgun.

"599 and 205's chords are similar to that of a lion's. Make a rumbling sound at the back of your mouth and sort of… bark. It'll sound like a lion's roar. The sound is rather unnerving during the heat of battle." He moved on to Jondy and Syl. "You two were made to communicate with the so-called 'Manticore mermaids' on the field. If you make a really high-pitched squeal it sounds like a dolphin, and if you click your tongue rapidly it gives off those ultrasound waves dolphins use to navigate in the dark. You'll be surprised; if you concentrate hard enough, you'll be able to use that just like a bat or dolphin.

"471 and 452…" Lydecker crossed his arms over his chest as he came to stand in front of them. "You two were made to communicate to each other in wilderness battle without giving it away to the enemy. So you were given a set of hawk vocal chords. You just make a high-pitched, back-of-the-mouth sound and it'll form words in your mind. I don't know how, but it does. This goes for the rest of you. You can communicate on the field using your extra sets of vocal chords, except for 734 of course."

"And how do you know this?" asked Zane, not bothering to address Lydecker in a military way.

"I wrote the training plan, 205, and I was there when they came up with the concept of the X5s. You kids have no idea how much of your lives you owe to me," said 'Deck. He sighed and nodded towards the door. "You can leave now."

Without further ado, the X5s retreated to Max's apartment, where Alec pulled out a bottle of liquor he had managed to snag from the supply room. He poured them all a glass (except Syl and Brin of course) and sat down on the couch next to Max.

"It's amazing how much we didn't know about ourselves," commented Jondy.

"Physically and emotionally," replied Max, smiling at her siblings, who really weren't siblings to each other anymore. Brin sat on the floor with her head resting on Zane's shoulder, one of his arms wrapped about her waist. Syl was snuggled up with Krit in the armchair. Jondy and Zack sat near the fire with their arms around each other. It was a mind-blowing thing to see.

"What really gets me is the back trick," noted Krit. "I mean, it takes some pretty messed-up genes to unhinge your bones like that."

"Yeah, and they never even taught us that in contortion class," added Zane with a shake of his head. "Manticore had some pretty mean tricks up their sleeves when they cooked us up."

"It's funny… we aren't the strongest or the smartest, but apparently we're the best batch Manticore ever made," piped Syl, grinning. "That's just ironic, if you ask me. They spend billions and billions more on all the other series, but we're still superior."

"Manticore was just a bunch of loonies with lots of technology," said Alec thoughtfully. "I don't think they knew what they had gotten themselves into until the first fully-trained X5s started going out on missions. I bet they didn't even think about us having emotions for each other until you guys escaped."

"They also thought we didn't have the guts to come back and blow everything up," commented Max. "It was a lot of power put into inexperienced hands. They were trying to play God."

"Yeah, well, they didn't have much of a problem, now did they?" added Zane with a wink. "We're a good-lucking bunch compared to some of the Ordinaries. Smart, too."

The others laughed.

Zack threw back his liquor and swallowed it with a slight wince. "Shit, that's strong stuff. Hard to find these days."

Alec smiled proudly. "I once read a report on this brand of alcohol and it can cook an egg in like five minutes flat."

"Hmm… I _do_ believe we're gonna have to get ourselves drunk on this stuff when it's all over," replied Zack as he studied his glass. "I haven't had any good alcohol for years…"

Max looked at him suspiciously. "And just how old are you, Zack? You never _did _tell us back at Manticore. All we knew was that you were older than the rest of us—and that doesn't tell us much. Come on."

Zack covered his face with his hands. "Now that's not a very polite question."

"You better tell us, Zack," said Zane, laughing. "Or we'll bother you forever."

"Twenty-five," mumbled Zack.

"What? I didn't quite hear that," teased Krit, putting a hand to his ear.

"Twenty-five," said Zack, louder this time.

Zane began to laugh, pointing a taunting finger at his blood brother. "I'm only twenty-two."

"Twenty-two for us," said Krit, also gesturing to Syl. "But she's older by a few months."

"I'm twenty-two, too," said Jondy.

"Twenty-three," piped in Brin.

"Twenty," Max said.

"Twenty-three," added Alec, grinning.

"You're officially the X5 senior citizen," said Zane, patting Zack on the back. 

Jondy kissed her boyfriend on the cheek. "It's okay, baby. _I_ still love you." She stuck her tongue out at Zane.

"Alright, alright," interrupted Max, who had just gotten her laughter under control. "We've thoroughly loosened ourselves up with liquor strong enough to make an Ordinary's liver malfunction. If you don't mind me saying, I think we should get back to work."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"One!"

"HYAH!"

"Two!"

"HYAH!"

"Three!"

"HYAH!"

Max stopped a few feet away from where Pick was standing. He was yelling out numbers like the trainers had done at Manticore. In front of him were all the X6s that were eighteen (none were older), which was only about seventy of them. There were one hundred fifty X6s in Terminal City, and most of them were sixteen or younger. Originally there were two hundred X6s—one hundred, then one hundred clones. Some of them hadn't made it to Terminal City and a lot of them were deceased. As Pick called out numbers they moved into a different stance like one big, well-oiled machine.

Pick noticed Max standing there out of the corner of his eye and shouted, "Pair up and spar one round. Then, you can go."

The X6s replied with an ear-splitting, "Sir, yes, Sir!" that Max was sure the Ordinaries at the perimeter had heard loud and clear.

Max shook her head and shook hands with Pick. "Why hello, Romeo, where's Juliet?"

Pick laughed and rubbed the back of his neck. "Taking a catnap, pun intended. She hasn't gotten very much sleep lately."

"Yeah, I can relate," replied Max with a smile. "Well, it looks like you know what you're doing. Since you seem to be doing well here, I'm gonna go see how the X5s are doing, okay?"

"Alright." Pick smiled as she walked away, then turned to examine his troops.

When Max reached the X5 training lot, she found Lydecker instructing the Xs on a few simple exercises. Alec was watching him with scrutinizing, tired eyes. She walked up behind him and wrapped her arms around his shoulders. "Sleepy?"

Alec leaned against her. "Just a little."

"Lydecker behaving himself?"

"Yeah."

"Go get some sleep. I'll watch him," she suggested, her hands kneading his tense shoulders.

"You sure?"

"Yeah."

"Okay." Alec rose from the chair and kissed her on the cheek, then trudged off.

Max sat in the chair and fixed her eyes on Lydecker, the man who had single-handedly ruined the first nineteen years of her life. He had killed her brothers and sisters, chased her around the countryside, and nearly sent her back to Manticore on more than one occasion. He had let Brin be reindoctrinated, and had left Max's body in the Manticore woods without a second thought. Yet here he was, allegedly trying to help the transgenics in a war against his kind. It was hard to believe, but his training _had_ helped. A lot. If the Centurions weren't aware of what the X5s could do then maybe… _maybe_ the attack wouldn't be so catastrophic.

"Excuse, me Max?"

Max looked up at a young X5 who appeared to be about eighteen years old and replied, "Yes?"

"Hi, I'm Talon. It's an honor to meet you, Ma'am," stammered the young man, fidgeting nervously.

"An honor? You must have the wrong X5, Talon," replied Max, smiling at him.

He licked his lips a few times and ran his fingers through his jet-black hair. "I, um, was instructed by Colonel Lydecker to show you and X5-471 how to communicate using your hawk chords. 599, 205, 701, and 210 are also being given lessons on communication. I, uh, I can't believe I'm actually talking to you, um…" The last part was said incredibly quickly and very, very quietly.

Max touched his face to get him to look at her and chuckled. "Calm down. I'm not going to bite your head off, contrary to popular belief."

Talon laughed nervously.

"Now, I'll find my brother and you can show us how to communicate. Okay?"

"Yes, Ma'am."

"Call me Max."

"Yes, Max."

"Good. I'll be right back," Max said, sauntering off. She soon found Krit gathered around a television with a few other transgenics. The president of the hellhole known as America was on the screen, giving a speech.

_"…and I, President Jefferson Ronalds, proclaim that the transgenic situation in Seattle, Washington, will be taken care of by a team of trained specialists within five days' time. The transgenics are not American citizens, nor are they even human. I will not allow them to adulterate American ground with their presence. They will be captured and sent to highly-guarded facilities where they will stay forever, unable to harm the American people. Long live America!"_ said the president, receiving a warm applause and cheers of support.

"The bastard," exclaimed Krit under his breath. He turned around and looked a little startled to see Max standing there. "Hey, Max."

Max shook her head. "I can't believe I voted for that guy." She looked up at her brother. "I bet it wouldn't be as bad if we could somehow contact the higher rings of government."

Krit looked over her shoulder at the little bird helicopter sitting underneath a tarp. A light bulb went on in his head. "Max, I have an idea."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

For awhile after that, things played out like a film without sound as Krit readied himself to fly to Washington to negotiate with the inner circle of the government. He and Syl shared a tender moment before he left, kissing and speaking in hushed tones about the baby and how everything would be alright. Styx, Baba, and three other X5s accompanied him, since Baba was the only one who could fly the chopper. They removed the weapons from the little bird so that their approach wouldn't seem too threatening. For a worst-case scenario, they had parachutes next to the doors.

Max watched as the little bird rose into the air and flew over the top of the buildings, quickly disappearing from sight. She instructed Brin to try and cheer Syl up, then left the guarding of Lydecker up to an X7 as Talon showed her how to communicate using hawk sounds, even though Krit was gone. Hours passed before Max finally learned all she needed to know about her extra vocal chords. Talon was specifically trained to communicate with other X5s on the field, and he was very helpful once he got over his shyness. Afterwards, Max returned to the apartment to find Alec pulling on his jacket and heading towards the door with a worried look on his face.

"Alec?" she asked, setting down a bag of rations. "Alec, what's wrong?"

Alec jumped in surprise and took a calming breath. "Max, I sent an X7 to go check out the situation at the main side of the perimeter. He saw White there, along with thirteen Centurions. White was talking to a man we assume to be the leader of the Centurions… White was dressed in a combat uniform and there were ten people standing behind him, also in combat uniform. Loaded guns, RPG launchers, SWAT shields, the works. Max, they're coming."

The impact of his words had no effect where they were unheard, however, and down at Tolerance Hall, where hundreds of unsuspecting transgenics were laying around with nothing to do, life went on as it usually did. They had no idea what was coming—and some would never know what hit them.

"Hey, Eddie, come here," called Dix, flagging the anomaly down.

Eddie wandered over to where Dix was busying himself working on a skateboard. "Yeah?"

"Watch this." The transhuman pressed a button and the skateboard rose a few feet and hovered there.

The young woman's jaw dropped. "No way! That's awesome!"

"I took the engine from an electric scooter and some motorcycle parts and put this together. You want it?"

"Hell yeah!" Eddie grabbed the skateboard from the air and turned it off. "That's wicked."

Dix opened his mouth to reply, but then everything stopped as Joshua burst onto the scene, yelling, "Red alert! Everyone, red alert! Weapons ready! Red alert!" There was a loud uproar as transgenics bolted to their feet in alarm.

"White is coming! Max says get to posts!" barked Joshua, running through the building wildly.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Max donned a combat uniform taken from the Phalynx and picked up a machine gun from the supply pile. Transgenics were running around gathering guns and getting to their posts, though some looked like chickens running around with their heads cut off. The ones not approved for battle were being ushered to the middle of the city and pilots were being located for the choppers. She walked up to Zack, who was without armor but wearing military fatigues, and handed him some rounds. He stuck them in his pocket and nodded. "Here we go," was all he said.

Jondy, Brin, Zane, and Alec approached, all of them dressed in the combat uniforms. They huddled together and Max issued instructions, "We split into groups of two. Each group takes a command of at least thirty soldiers. I want one group at every perimeter corner. Dix and Leg have put together communication systems." She handed them each an earpiece and a small mic to be clipped onto their helmets. "Use these wisely; whatever you say might be picked up by the wrong people. Everyone understand?"

The other X5s nodded.

"Good. Move out."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

White, extremely pleased that the extra Familiars had arrived earlier than planned, adjusted his helmet and looked at Colonel Briggs. "We'll be out of there in an hour."

"You better be. And if you get my soldiers killed I'll have your ass," replied Briggs with a threatening glare. "They're worth a lot more than your entire sorry ass."

Ames smirked. "Don't worry, Colonel. The only ones who are gonna die are the freaks inside Terminal City. Now, if you'll excuse me, I must address my troops." He walked over to the group of ten Familiars dressed ready for combat. "Okay, here's the deal. Killing 452 is our main priority. After that, we'll torch the place. That oughtta flush them out. And while they run, we'll be shooting them down like fish in a bucket. Got it?"

"Yeah," replied the other Familiars.

White motioned to Briggs, who instructed his Centurions, "Alright, this guy is in charge when you get in there. I don't trust him, so if he tries anything funny Centurion Alpha will take over. Understand?"

"Sir, yes, Sir!"

Briggs nodded to White, who smirked. "Thank you, Colonel Briggs," said White sardonically. The Centurions and Familiars gathered behind him. "It's simple. Split up and kill anything you see. Understand?" Nods. "Okay, then move!" They dispersed and White turned to look at the deceivingly motionless Terminal City. "Time to die, 452," he whispered.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Minutes ticked by slowly like hours. The transgenics knew that the enemy was on the move; coming to kill them all, but deep down inside they kept hoping it wasn't true. That this was just a false alarm. No one wanted to face the fact that on this night, they could all die. Genocide was the word on everyone's tongues. Would they be wiped out? Would all memory of transgenics be erased forever?

Zack nervously looked at Jondy, who sat with her back to him so that no one could sneak up on them. "Anything?" he asked whispered.

"Nothing," she replied.

Zack motioned to one of the X5s in the unit of twenty they were commanding. The X5 shook his head and shrugged.

"Max, Sector 4A is clear."

"Keep watch," replied Max into her mic. The tension in the air was so thick she could hardly breathe. Reports had come in that White and the Centurions had disappeared from outside the perimeter, which meant they were inside.

Which meant Max had no clue where they were.

And that was not a good thing.

After a few more minutes of waiting, Max heard Brin's voice come through the earpiece, "Max, we've spotted the enemy in Sector 2B. They've split completely and they're headed in all directions. I repeat, the enemy is _on the move_. Max, can you hear—"

Brin's voice cut off there, and Max grew alarmed. "Brin? Brin?! Zane, where's Brin?" She listened for a moment and heard fighting and a distinct lion's roar. Then, silence. She looked at Alec and said into her mic, "Attention all units. We've moving out. There is an enemy presence in Sector 2B. I want someone down there to check out the situation. All units on alert, the enemy _has_ made the first move. I repeat, the ball is rolling."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Zane was watching Brin report to Max when, suddenly, there was someone behind her. Thick, tree trunk-sized arms wrapped around her neck, pulling off her helmet, and she was thrown high into the air. He quickly pointed his gun and fired, but in a flash the enemy was behind him, knocking the gun from his hand. He turned and was promptly punched in the face. The ground came into contact with his face with enough force to shatter an Ordinary's skull, but it left him with only a headache and snapped his mic off. He jumped onto his feet with a rumbling roar that left his foe momentarily stunned – giving Zane the moment he needed. He kicked the Centurion in the face and yelled, "FIRE!"

The unit of Xs shot at the staggering Centurion, who took five bullets in the chest with barely a flinch. He then blurred forward and grabbed the gun from the hand of a stunned X5. Placing the gun at the X5's temple, he announced in a sordid voice, "Anyone moves and he's dead."

Zane looked at his unit, who had their guns trained on the Centurion's forehead, and licked his lips nervously, wincing as he tasted blood there. "Weapons down!"

The unit of X5s slowly lowered their guns.

As they did this, the Centurion let out a high-pitched whistle. Before any of the X5s could react, another Centurion jumped from the roof above them and opened fire. Zane quickly grabbed his gun and shot the rampaging Centurion in the back. She took at least twenty bullets before falling to the ground, her blood pooling into in a growing puddle of the sticky red liquid. Zane wasn't quick enough to save the X5 in the grips of the male Centurion, however, and the X5 was dead before the female Centurion hit the ground. The other Centurion was nowhere to be found, but a blood trail was heading off in a southerly direction.

Zane took several calming breaths. His throat tightened as he surveyed the damage. Ten of the original thirty soldiers lay dead on the ground. Brin wasn't looking too good herself; a crumpled heap of bones lying awkwardly in a puddle of reddening rainwater. He picked his mic up from the ground and choked, "This is X5-205 from Sector 2B, we've got ten dead and several wounded. Medical assistance is needed ASAP. We managed to kill one enemy soldier, but another got away and I have reason to believe he's heading towards sector 3A. I repeat, medical assistance ASAP. Over."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Roger that," replied Max through clenched teeth. She looked at Alec sadly. "Alec, contact the medical team and send them down to Zane's position in Sector 2B ASAP."

Alec nodded solemnly and started speaking into his mic, which was connected with a different set of transgenics – the rescue and medical teams. These teams operated from the inner sanctions of the city, pulling back wounded and dead from the line of fire. He was sorry to say that they had their work cut out for them.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

In Sector 3A, Eddie and Pick were engaged in an urban battle for a pivotal junction of Last Hope. Whoever held control of this intersection could split Last Hope into two parts… so if the enemy seized power over this point, then they could scatter and divide the transgenics forces with minimal strategic planning. Not good. The worst of it was… the transgenics were losing.

Slowly but surely, Pick could see their perimeter collapsing. He stood inside what once was a thrift store, peering out into the darkness through a large hole in the wall. A dead Centurion lay in the middle of the narrow street in front of the hole – courtesy of Pick's AK47 – and now all he had to do was wait for the Centurion's comrades to inspect the body… At least, that's what he hoped they would do. These Centurions… they were trained _differently_. He could see it in the way they moved. Their movements didn't make much sense to Pick, but whatever their strategy was – it was working. He and Eddie had been separated in the midst of an explosion, but they had spoken over the com a few times. From their talks, he had gathered that she was with the rest of their assigned unit somewhere in the rooftops.

A sound outside the building distracted him. Muscles tensed, he leveled his gun toward the opening in the wall. The first thing to come into view was the barrel of a rifle. It paused in midair for several minutes before moving forward until the glowering face of the gun's owner came into view. Pick's finger tightened on the trigger. Two more steps and he would have a clear shot. One… He froze.

_No._ The word echoed in his mind.

The soldier had a body slung over his shoulder. As he moved farther into view, the neck turned and the face became visible. _Eddie_. If he took a shot, there was a very real chance that he would hit her. Was she dead? He gulped. His mind was spinning. How? Surely someone would've contacted him!

"Don't move."

The voice made Pick start in surprise. He winced as the cold steel of the nose of a gun was violently jammed into his neck. It was a trap. He was beaten at his own game! But _how?_

"Drop your weapon."

Pick immediately did as he was told. The Centurion outside the building unceremoniously dropped Eddie and stepped into the room with a smirk on his face. The one with the gun to Pick's neck laughed derisively.

"She put up a good fight, I'll give her that. The Alpha has made a personal request that we bring you both to him. He likes to break the leaders before he kills them," explained the Centurion scathingly. "He'll have a lot of fun with the both of you."

With an enraged roar, Pick lashed out against the Centurion holding him. His fist connected solidly with her nose, sending the bone into her brain and killing her instantly. The second raised his gun and fired, bullets ripping into Pick's shoulder and sending him sprawling backward onto the ground with a spray of blood. He lay there, stunned, before realizing that his com device was still on. Risking the last moments he might have, he yelled into his mic, "MAX! The Familiars have taken Junction 3! One Centurion dead! Send medical assistance ASAP! Do you copy?"

He abruptly shut up as the butt of a rifle collided with his forehead.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Max glanced at her unit, then whispered into her mic, "Eddie, Pick, word has come in from Sector 2B that more enemy soldiers are moving in your direction. Do you copy? Over." She waited a few seconds before repeating, "Pick, come in. Pick?!" After a moment or two, she heard crackling, and some in-and-out speaking that she could barely understand.

"Famil—Centur—dead—sen—SAP—opy—"

"Shit!" Max slammed her fist against her gun angrily. "Zack, Jondy, I need you to abandon your current position and head to Sector 3A with your unit. I'll send some of my soldiers down to take care of your position."

"Roger that, Max," replied Jondy dutifully.

Max sighed and looked at Alec, who was listening to his earpiece with an alarmed look upon his face. "What?" she asked.

Alec waved his hand at her as a signal to be quiet and pressed the earpiece more snuggly into his ear. After a few moments, the color drained from his face and he turned to Max to say, "The black hawk and one of the apaches took off. White and the Centurions got past _everyone_. So far, thirty reported dead and seventy wounded. Brin and Zane and Eddie and Pick have been overtaken. Several medical teams are missing and the rescue squads have been taken as prisoners. Jondy and Zack are headed straight into an enemy perimeter. White is headed this way with ten people with him—we don't know if they're Familiars or Centurions. We've got to leave, Max!"

Max's heart dropped as she looked first at Alec, then at the X5s and one or two X6s in her unit. They were all staring at her, waiting for a response. The X6s looked absolutely terrified; unlike the X5s, they had never been used on the field and weren't used to this kind of warfare. Their eyes were wide and their faces sheet white, a stark contrast to their dark camouflage fatigues. Max licked her lips and quietly said, "All right, people. We're the last hope." She looked at each of them, her eyes grave. "Move out."


	9. Endgame

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters in this story that appear in the hit syndicated TV show, Dark Angel, owned and created by James Cameron. I do, however, own any and all original characters that appear in this work of fan fiction. 

Summary: Fierce fighting, a blazing fire, and one transgenic to stop it all.

The Siege 

by

Brin 

****

_If someone else showed you the way_

_Would you take the wheel and steer?_

_It hurts me that you're not ashamed_

_Of what you're doing here_

_If they jumped off a bridge_

_Would you meet them on the ground?_

_Or would you try and claim_

_That it never made a sound?_

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Death. Destruction. Fire. Hell. I don't know what's going to happen now. Will I die tonight? Will I ever live to see morning again?

**Chapter 9: Endgame**

Jondy, Zack, and their unit slowly crept through Terminal City, Sector 3A. The road seemed clear ahead, but the air was deathly still. Nothing moved. Some of the transgenics were even afraid to breathe. This was like crawling right into the belly of the beast. They crept right into the heart of Sector 3A, and there they found what they were looking for—Eddie and Pick's unit.

"Oh shit," whispered Jondy, suddenly feeling a bit nauseous. She removed her helmet and let it drop to the ground. "_Shit_."

Strewn about were the bodies. Bloody, unidentifiable bodies. Some of them were displayed in contorted positions. And some of them…

"Get them down! Get them all down!" ordered Zack, his face green.

Jondy looked up at the bodies hanging by their hands from the building fire escapes like twisted crucifixions. She ran her fingers through her disheveled hair, holding back the sobs of despair. After taking a moment to compose herself, she walked over to cut down a body. Before she did this, however, she followed the rope with her eyes. The rope was first tied to the fire escape, then it went all the way up and disappeared over the top of the building. That was strange…

"Wait," she said as Zack prepared to cut a body down. She paused a moment, then their situation hit her. "This is a trap! Grab your weapons and—"

"Everyone FREEZE! We've got you surrounded!" shouted another voice over Jondy's.

Jondy's face fell as the fire escapes suddenly collapsed in chosen locations, creating a cage around the transgenics. Ten figures dropped from inside the buildings and landed on top of the metal heaps, guns trained on the transgenics.

"Put down your weapons! Drop them, NOW!" yelled one of the Centurions. "No sudden movements!"

The transgenics were looking at Zack for instructions, and he nodded. "Do as he says." Their weapons clattered to the ground.

"On your knees! Hands on your heads!"

Slowly, carefully, the transgenics lowered themselves and did as they were told. Two of the Centurions jumped down and gathered up their weapons. When they were sure the transgenics posed no threat, they nodded to their leader.

"Tie them up, then put them with the others," ordered the Centurion Alpha. "Keep an eye on them. If they try anything funny…" He jumped down and tipped Jondy's face up so that she was looking at him. "Shoot them." Jondy glared at him, but said nothing. He laughed and patted her on the cheek, then walked away.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Max and Alec ran through a dark alley, guns ready. They ducked behind piles of debris at the end of the alley, checking both ways for any sign of the enemy. When they were sure there were no surprises in store, Max turned and held out her arm horizontally, palm up, then motioned towards herself. _Come forward._ She and Alec kept watch as their unit hurried over. As they were coming, Alec raised his arm at a and then, palm down, lowered his arm back down to his side. _Take cover._ The other transgenics quickly split up, hiding behind debris like shadows. One of the X5s got Max's attention and tapped the back of his head with his open palm. Max nodded and repeated the gesture. _Head count._ Briefly, everyone poked their heads up, and Max quickly counted them. Once she was sure everyone was there, she told them to get down again.

They watched the street for a few more minutes before Max and Alec decided to cross it. By doing this, they would be going out of their sector and moving into enemy-taken territory. Max held up three fingers, then put one down, then another, and when she finally put the last one down they ran out into the open street. They were right in the middle when one of the others jumped out and yelled "RPG!"

Instinctively, Max and Alec hit the dirt. The rocket-powered grenade flew right through the spot they had been standing in, hitting a building and causing a huge explosion that skimmed their backs. Fiery debris rained down on the two transgenics as their unit jumped out and began shooting in the direction the grenade had come from.

"Help them!" urged an X6, running over to Max and Alec. The transgenics quickly removed the flaming debris from their leaders, whose uniforms were scorched, but not on fire.

Max coughed as the smoke and ash from the building filled her lungs. She and Alec were dragged back into the ally, presumably out of harm's way. As soon as they had caught their breaths, they took the command once again.

"Well, I'd say we're in enemy sights now," deadpanned Alec, throwing off his scorched helmet.

"If the shooter isn't there anymore, the leader knows we're here… and that's even worse," added Max. She looked around at their unit. "Okay, we're gonna have to split up into groups of five. Alec and I will be by ourselves. Everyone understand?"

"Yes, ma'am," they replied dutifully.

At this point, Max went back to using hand signals—just in case. First, she cut her fingers across her neck. _Danger area._ Then, she held up a hand—five fingers—and pointed to the transgenics, breaking them up into groups of five. She then raised her arm vertically overhead, then brought her arm back down to a horizontal position and gave each group a direction to go. _Disperse. _The groups quickly exited, leaving Max and Alec by themselves.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Eddie, Pick, Jondy, Zack, Brin, and Zane were all brought into a dimly-lit room blindfolded. They were then chained to the wall and their blindfolds were removed. They looked at each other in confusion, then their eyes turned upon the young man sitting before them. He was tall, with sandy blonde hair and eerie blue eyes.

"Welcome!" he said, his voice loud and clear. "I am the Centurion Alpha, alias Brock… but I'd rather you not call me that." The chained transgenics didn't appreciate his obvious amusement at the situation. "The six of you have been identified as transgenic leaders… and _that_ would be why you're here. 452 obviously wouldn't leave her officers in the hands of the enemy, no matter how… _expendable_ you seem to me," continued the Centurion with a smile. He studied each of them closely, then stopped when he reached Eddie. She had been beaten within an inch of her life and had a nasty bullet wound in her side. Her face was so bloody, bruised, and so swollen that she was barely recognizable. "X6-301… how nice to see you again. How have you been?"

Eddie, unable to lift her head for the pain shooting through her entire body, did nothing.

"Answer me when I speak to you, soldier!" yelled the Centurion, grabbing Eddie by the hair and lifting her head for her.

"Leave her alone!" shouted Pick, jerking against his chains.

Centurion Alpha straightened up and turned to Pick. "Always a feisty one, 901. I remember you, too." He looked at the X5s, who seemed utterly confused. "Of course, they never knew I was a Centurion. My facility needed to conduct an experiment regarding Centurion reproductive systems and I was the only one not taking birth control meds. The Manticore facility would offer us no one but 301." Here he stopped and looked at Pick pointedly. "We slept together for two nights at the Seattle facility, then I was forced to return to my base for a special field operation."

Pick cast Eddie a sidelong glance, but she was staring at the Centurion with fiery eyes.

"Of course, 301 failed to conceive and spent two or three months in psy-ops because of her blatant hatred for me. Isn't that right?" asked the Centurion, touching Eddie's face.

She glared at him and managed to jerk her head aside, but the action caused intense pain that nearly made her black out.

Centurion Alpha stood to his full height. "I have strict orders to keep you all in here. It's only a matter of time before 452 is comes to rescue you. This situation is utterly hopeless. Chimeras are no match for Centurions. You didn't seriously think you could win?"

"Is that the shit they feed you?" asked Zack irritably.

The Centurion turned to look at him, smiling. "Aaah, I read about you in mission logs. X5-599, the cream of the crop." At the surprised look on Zack's face, Centurion Alpha laughed. "You'd be surprised how much I know."

"Why are you doing this? Can't you see what we're doing?" said Pick. "We're making a stand for our kind. You think that just because you still work for Manticore you're some kind of war hero? People hate you. They don't care you've helped capture us. You're still one of us, and they hate you for it."

"I don't care what 'the people' think," said Centurion Alpha. "I am a soldier. I serve our country. Something the lot of you need a good lesson in."

"A country that hates you!" spat Jondy with a roll of her eyes. "What do you think Manticore is going to do when you get old and wrinkled? You think they're going to treat and comfort you for all the good work you've done for them? Let me tell you what they'll do." She leaned forward. "First, they put you in a windowless room and cut off your air supply until you suffocate… just to see your maximum lung capabilities. Then, they cut you open and perform an autopsy just for kicks. And when they're done with that, they toss you into the incinerator with last week's mystery meat special."

Centurion Alpha narrowed his eyes at her, disbelieving. "That'll never happen."

"You think it won't?" growled Pick, narrowing his eyes. "I saw it happen to one of my sisters. She was cut open; studied. Right before my eyes."

"It doesn't matter if one soldier falls. There will always be ten more behind him," reasoned the Centurion, building up his resolve. "And your words won't phase me."

"Really?" asked Zane, pinning the Alpha with a intense gaze. "Look at what you've done to your fellow transgenics—look at how many you've killed. That's not a mission, that's a war, and there's no winner in war. Your people will die, too. How do you feel about that?"

"I told you already. It doesn't matter."

Zack laughed at the Centurion. "You really think so? Don't you feel anything for your fellow soldiers? The one's you've grown up with; your only comfort in life? Your brothers and sisters?"

"I don't have brothers and sisters. I have superiors and inferiors," yelled the young Centurion angrily. "Besides, you would be the one killing them, so why preach to me?"

"I don't care what you say… you care!" exclaimed Pick. "Think about them… out there, dying on the streets. Cold. Alone. In pain. Doesn't that hurt inside? Doesn't it make you the least bit _angry_?"

The Centurion said nothing.

"That's what I thought," concluded the X6. He glanced over at his girlfriend. "You see that? Do you see what they did to her? How do you explain how doing that to someone will benefit your country? Your cause?"

"I was ordered to do so. I have no emotional attachment to the anomaly," said Centurion Alpha, lacing his hand behind his back.

"I believe you do," snapped Pick. "I believe you have emotional attachments to all the Centurions in your unit, and Eddie. In fact, I bet you imagine a father-son relationship with your commander. Isn't that right?"

"Shut up."

"Why aren't you answering me?"

"I said SHUT UP."

"It's true, isn't it?"

"SHUT UP!" Centurion Alpha ran forward and kicked Pick across the face, busting his lip. "_You_ are in no position to be so bold!"

Pick coughed as blood filled his mouth. An emotionless smirk appeared on his face. "See?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Max and Alec found the remnants of the attack on Eddie and Pick's unit of X6s, but the two teens were nowhere to be found. They had the distinct idea that they were being watched, and more than once they had heard far-off explosions that made their stomachs churn with fear for their comrades. They first removed the bodies from underneath the collapsed fire escapes. When they were done, Max's face was tearstained and she felt her last meal quickly rising north.

Alec put his arm around her and kissed the top of her head. "It's okay, Maxie," he whispered.

"We should get going," replied Max, moving out of his embrace. She studied their choice of directions and decided the best way to go was… up. "Every attack thus far has come from the rooftops... So I'm guessing they've established a base up there."

Alec nodded in agreement. "Let's check it out."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Eddie could feel her hold on consciousness slipping. Every intake of breath stung her chest. The slightest movement sent searing pain across her body. So when a pair of thick arms grasped her around the middle and lifted her onto a table, she couldn't help but whimper in agony. Her eyes slipped open and she caught sight of her lover sitting on the ground, his uniform drenched with blood at the shoulder. The light, dim though it was, caused her head to spin, so she closed her eyes again.

"X6-301 has a broken femur, broken ribs, a shattered clavicle, and she may have a concussion. Other than that, it's a whole lot of bumps and bruises," explained the Centurion medical unit unemotionally as he poked and prodded the broken anomaly. "Nothing especially threatening besides this bullet wound to the side. There seems to be no serious internal bleeding… but we won't know for sure until a more thorough exam can be made."

Pick angrily thumped a hand against the ground.

"A friend of yours?" asked the medical unit with a smirk. "If she stays out for very long, I'm afraid there's nothing we will be able to do. Going unconscious with a potential concussion, even a minor one, could prove to be lethal. Too bad."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"RPG!"

Max and Alec dropped to the ground as two grenades flew towards them. The RPGs hit each other mid-flight and exploded right above the X5s' heads. If Max and Alec hadn't been wearing their uniforms, they surely would've been burnt to a crisp. As it was, the only exposed skin—the backs of their necks—turned red and blistering from the heat. Their barcodes burnt off.

"That was too close!" yelled Max angrily as they got to their feet again.

Alec looked up towards where the grenades had come from and his eyes widened. "Here they come again! Jump!" 

The two jumped high into the air like only X5s could as the RPGs exploded into the ground they had just been standing in. The blast knocked them higher into the air and a little bit to the side, causing them to crash into the wall of a nearby building.

"Hey, you said you wanted to go up, right?" joked Alec despite their situation. "Look at is as a convenient shortcut!"

"Alec, you better shut up and climb before they decide to blow us up into a million little pieces," urged Max as she began to climb towards the roof, which was only ten or so feet above them.

"Good idea," he replied, hurrying to catch up with her.

They were about two feet below the roof when they were aware of two things: 1) there were two Familiars standing at the top of the roof and 2) an RPG was headed right for them.

Max looked at Alec, who nodded. As if able to read each other's mind, they simultaneously pulled themselves upward with all their might, causing their bodies to fly into the air as the grenade crashed into the building and set it aflame. The Familiars started shooting at them while they were in the air, but somehow the two X5s evaded getting shot even as they came crashing down on top of their enemies.

"Howdya like that one?" asked Alec, putting his foot on the face of the unconscious Familiar he had landed on.

"And now it's time to play dress up," announced Max as she pulled the pants off one of the Familiars. "Just make believe you're a whacked out snake goddess worshiper."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"You're just going to let her die?" yelled Pick, gesturing to Eddie.

The Alpha frowned disapprovingly at the medical unit, then said to Pick, "I have orders."

"Fuck the orders!"

"Calm down. You're more worth to Eddie with a clear mind," reasoned Jondy gently.

Pick clenched his fists as he seethed, "If she dies, I swear I'll kill you all. You know I'll do it, or die trying."

"That can be arranged," the Alpha replied shortly, moving forward. "I'm your captor. I have the authority here, and if you continue to push me then I _will_ have you terminated," barked the Centurion.

"You won't kill us. We're worth too much. Isn't that right?" reasoned Zack with narrowed eyes. "Each one of us is worth millions, and you know it."

"Dead or alive!" responded the Alpha.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Max and Alec bound and gagged the two Familiars before leaping to the next building. They moved about two blocks when four Familiars suddenly jumped up from between the buildings, cutting them off.

"Well, well, well… imagine seeing _you_ here, 452," greeted an achingly recognizable voice. Ames White stepped into the light, his face graven and eerie in the flickering flames of Last Hope. "I'm afraid I can't allow you to go any farther."

"And I'm afraid I'm gonna have to kick your tight ass and be on my merry way," snapped Max.

White shook his head. "I don't have time to trade insults with you, 452. Get her." He snapped his fingers. On cue, his three companions sped forward and knocked the guns from Alec and Max's hands. Alec leapt into the air and did a roundhouse kick, knocking their assailants backwards.

"I'll take care of these guys. You get White," the X5 yelled over his shoulder.

"Got it," replied Max, facing White. "So, looks like it's just you and me."

"Right. I've missed our nice little conversations so much," sneered White, drawing a gun. "How's about a dance?"

"Bite me." She dropped to her knees, narrowly avoiding being shot, and rolled forward. With a swift kick across the knees, she brought White to the ground. In the second he was preoccupied, the X5 got to her feet.

"You really think you can beat me without your pet bulldog?" taunted White as he, too, rose into a fighting position. "You really should've let him kill me."

"No argument there," she replied as they circled each other. "But now _I_ get the honor."

White took a swing at her, but she ducked and kicked him in the stomach. He caught her foot and twisted her leg, forcing her to jump in the air and spin along with it. He pushed her to the ground and kicked her in the side. "How do you like that, 452?"

"Shut up," replied Max, pushing herself upward with her arms and kicking White in the face with both feet. As White stumbled back, Max elbowed him across the face, but it barely fazed him. After the third hit, his hand shot out and caught her arm.

"Didn't your CO ever tell you," sneered White, "that to give an enemy a limb is to lose it?" Then, without flinching, he snapped her arm backwards so that it broke and slipped out of its socket. Max screamed in pain and her leg shot out, catching him in the knee. He stumbled back with a curse, then raised his head and smiled. "You're getting soft, 452. Is there something wrong? Can't handle a little pain?" He pulled a handgun and aimed it at her. "Here… this will take your mind off your arm…"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

For the past few minutes, Zack had been silent. His captors thought nothing of it – all training logs reported Zack as quieter than the others in his unit, but a strong leader. The log hadn't, however, outlined the incredible mastermind that X5-599 was. So while everyone else was talking, Zack was escaping. He first slipped his thumbs from their sockets, an X5 trick of contortionism, and pulled his hands out. Then, freed, he sat watching how things played out… biding his time, waiting for the opportune moment.

Currently, the Centurion Alpha was ignoring them. Pick sat brooding in the corner, his eyes never leaving the still form of his lover. She hadn't moved for some time now, but Zack could just barely hear her shallow breathing. He glanced at Jondy. She was staring at him questioningly, but he made no intimation of his plans. The only one who knew was him, and it was safest to keep it that way.

"Sir!"

A Centurion burst into the room, catching Zack's attention. His heart jumped. Here was his opportunity… He tensed.

"What?" snapped the Centurion Alpha.

"452 and 494 have engaged in battle with Special Agent in Charge White," reported the lower Centurion, saluting. "Backup requested."

Zack set his handcuffs on the ground, his face blank. The three guards didn't even look at him. Their attention was on the Centurion Alpha as they waited for his decision. For once in his life, he thanked Manticore for drilling so much training into their heads. _Always_ listen to the CO – that was the rule, no matter who trained you. He shifted, resting his back against the wall. This time one of the guards looked at him, but he remained the visage of innocence.

"Take three. 452 and 494 can't be much of a challenge. Look at these poor excuses for soldiers," said the Alpha with a shake of his head. "Get going."

"Yes, sir," responded the lower Centurion. He nodded toward two of the guards, and they followed him from the room.

As the Centurion Alpha was watching them go, Zack made his move. The door shut and he was on his feet. The Centurion Alpha turned his head, and Zack twisted the remaining guard's head, snapping his neck and killing him instantly. By the time the Alpha was able to react, Zack blurred forward and grabbed the gun from his hands. For the first time, the Alpha showed a look of total panic as Zack pressed the barrel of the gun to his forehead.

"Move and you die," warned the X5, pinning the Centurion with a stormy glare. With his free hand, he took the keys from the Alpha's utility belt and tossed them toward Zane. "Get out."

Zane shifted his body to pick up the keys. Jondy scooted over so that they were back to back, and he unlocked her handcuffs. In a matter of moments, all the transgenics were free. Pick ran over to Eddie and gingerly slung her over his shoulder. Zane did the same with Brin, whose injuries weren't fatal, but definitely debilitating.

Gun still firmly planted on the Centurion's forehead, Zack instructed, "Everyone get out. Now."

Jondy shook her head. "But Zack—"

"That's an _order!_" roared the huge X5. The stillness of his body was disconcerting to say the least – like a snake ready to strike…

"Come on, Jondy. Max and Alec need our help," reasoned Zane, grabbing her arm. "We gotta go."

With a strangled sigh and a reluctant expression shot her lover's way, Jondy nodded and followed the procession out the door, leaving Zack and the Centurion Alpha alone. Or, more like, leaving the Alpha at the mercy of an enraged X5. As soon as the door clicked shut, Zack lowered the gun and shot twice, taking out both of the Alpha's kneecaps. The Alpha crumpled to the ground with a shout of surprise. Zack glared down at him for a few seconds before shooting twice more. The Alpha made a piteous sound as he felt the bullets penetrate his shoulders, blood spurting everywhere.

"And that, you little prick, is what happens when you _piss me off_," growled Zack as he removed the Centurion's helmet and headpiece. "Stay awhile. If you're lucky, you'll still be alive by the time someone comes to check on you." And with that, Zack turned and left, but not before delivering a final bullet to the Centurion's hip.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

In the hall, the bootless, nearly unarmed transgenics ran with all their might toward the end of the building. They very seriously expected Centurions to jump out of nowhere and kill them all, but that was a chance they had to take in order to escape. 

"How are we supposed to get to the helicopters?" yelled Zane. "They're in the middle of the city! We don't even know where we are!"

Jondy opened her mouth to reply, but was interrupted by—

"RPG!" yelled Pick, falling against the wall.

Jondy barely had enough time to throw herself out of the way as a grenade propelled itself through the window to explode at the end of the hallway. A fireball swept from the explosion across the tile floor towards the five transgenics, ready to incinerate them. With lightning-fast reflexes, Jondy shoved Pick and Zane out the window. With a deep breath, she turned, ducked, and jumped, flying out the window just as the fireball exploded behind her, the flames licking at her feet. Her momentum carried her all the way across the street to the next building. She grabbed onto the fire escape and dropped to the ground, then ran over to her companions.

Zane shifted Brin in his arms, wincing as he heard the whimper of pain from her. "Alright, we've got bogies on the roof one o'clock," he announced.

"I got it," replied Jondy, looking through the scope of her gun. She was about to shoot the Centurion standing on the roof with a grenade launcher when Zane suddenly let out a thunderous roar that made her skin crawl. Whirling around, and saw three Centurions standing behind her, a bit confused about the lion's roar they just heard. "Hello," she said before jamming the butt of her gun into one of their faces.

The other two immediately jumped into action, but Pick, who had laid Eddie on the ground intervened. He punched one across the face, but it barely fazed him. The two smirked at the X6 and one picked him up by the seat of his pants and tossed him aside like a rag doll. While they were distracted, Zane shot the first Centurion through the forehead. He fell like a sack of potatoes. The remaining Centurions faced him with confident smirks.

"Hey!" shouted a voice from above.

One of the Centurions looked up while the other kept an eye on Jondy and Zane. Zack jumped from the window of the building and landed on top of her, cracking the cement underneath her body.

"Run and we'll let you live," he propositioned to the last Centurion, poking a gun into his back. "Give us your gun."

"Go to hell," was the response.

"So be it." Zack shook his head and fired. The bullet ripped through the Centurion's body, but he didn't go down, so the X5 lifted the gun and shot him in the back of the head. Blood and brains splattered, and the Centurion finally slid to the ground. The X5 took a step back to allow the body to fall at his feet. "For some reason, they seem easier to kill nowadays."

"What happened with Alpha Ass?" asked Jondy, trying hard not to look into the face of the dead Centurions as she took their guns.

"Let's just say he's down and he can't get up," responded her lover coolly. "Get Eddie and Brin. We're going after Max."

"But we don't know where she is," interrupted Zane. "She could be anywhere."

"Trust me," replied Zack sternly. "She won't mind."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Max wasn't sure what hurt more… her arm or her head, which was currently getting smashed against the ground continuously. He was sitting on her stomach, knees pinning her arms, while a Familiar that had just arrived held her legs down. She didn't know why he didn't just shoot her.

WHACK!

Her eyes crossed. Max started planning how she was gonna get herself out of his. She estimated that her brain could take this kind of beating for two more minutes before it went dead. In that time, stupid good-for-nothing-Alec _should_ get done with his job. Wait… where _was_ Alec? She hadn't heard him scuffling with the other Familiars for awhile now… Under pressure and growing alarmed over the safety of her lover, Max quickly came up with an idea, but it was risky.

"You know… this is a lot more enjoyable than I first thought… but I don't have time for this," said White, suddenly halting his assault. He grabbed his gun and pointed it in between her eyes. "Any last words, four fifty-two?"

"Hey, White… Remember what you told me about enemies and limbs? Well, I think you need a taste of your own medicine." At the risk of snapping her elbow, Max twisted her arm around to grab Ames' ankle and pushed his leg back, breaking it. "And _don't _call me 'four fifty-two!'"

"FUCKING SHIT!" Ames shouted at the top of his lungs as pain exploded through his body. He fired.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"That RPG man never came back, even when we were distracted," commented Jondy as she and Zack made a quick stop at the supply room in hopes they would find something useful.

"Probably ran off to tell his bozo boss we mashed his thoroughbreds' faces in," Zack deadpanned, pulling open the supply room door.

"Halleluiah!" Jondy yelled as she spotted the pile of grenades at the back of the room. "Now _this_ is my kind of fighting." She picked up one of the grenades and started stuffing them in her pack like a child in a candy store.

Zack leaned against the doorframe, using his long arms to grab some rounds and a fully-loaded automatic. "Down, Fido," he said. "You're going to blow yourself to bits."

Jondy ignored him as she inspected a rocket-launcher sitting in a dusty corner. "How about this baby? I'll show you blowing up things!"

"If you want, but I'm not carrying it," replied Zack, rolling his eyes.

With another noise of delight, Jondy slung the launcher over her shoulder and walked out, grenades dropping out of her overstuffed pack as she did so. Zack sighed and picked up the gray spheres as they fell.

"She should be somewhere around where we found Eddie and Pick's unit," declared Jondy, referring to Max.

"That's my guess," Zack replied. He put Jondy's dropped grenades in his pack. "But it'll take us awhile to find her… What if we're…"

"Too late? Not possible," called a voice.

Jondy and Zack looked up. "Alec?!" exclaimed Jondy. "How come you aren't with Max?"

"Damn Familiars shoved me off the roof of a five story building. I took them with me... Apparently, feline DNA has its benefits… such as not going SPLAT on the pavement like they did. I've been looking for you guys. Let's go!"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Max shoved White off and jerked her leg, striking the Familiar sitting on her legs in the crotch. He gasped and fell to the side. She sat up and looked at the bullet hole in the cement. Reaching up, she touched her ear and felt warm, coppery blood there. "Holy shit," she whispered in shock, realizing how close she had come to dying.

"I'm not gonna miss next time," White roared as he struggled to stand on his good leg.

The X5 jumped to her feet and blurred, shoving him with all her might. He fell back a bit, but somehow managed to right himself before he went toppling over. "This fight is as good as won, White," barked Max, moving forward to shove him again.

"You're right. For me," replied White cockily.

"Don't move! Don't move, or you're dead!" shouted a voice.

Max froze in her tracks as a little red light appeared on the middle of her chest. She looked up to see four new Familiars glaring at her. _Alec… where are you?!_ her mind screamed.

"You see, four fifty-two? This is a lose-lose situation. Give up," sneered Ames, crossing his arms. "Tell me where my son is."

"Your son is happy. He's living with a normal family, having a normal life. His dad isn't a fucked up asshole with a stick halfway up his butt anymore," spat Max hatefully.

Ames cocked the trigger of his gun, his hand shaking uncontrollably. "Bitch! Give me my son!"

"You gonna shoot me, Ames?" Max narrowed her eyes at him. "It doesn't really matter. I'll never tell you where Ray is. Besides, if any of us got away, they're going to knock you off before you ever find him. And you're gonna die alone… _without_ your son."

"Don't push me, four fifty-two," growled White. Took a gun from a Familiar and cocked the trigger.

"Shoot her!" urged the Familiars. "Just shoot her! She'll get away!"

"Stay out of this," Ames barked over his shoulder. "Last chance, four fifty-two."

Max's heart was racing in her chest. Adrenaline was pumping through her veins. Sweat beads rolled down her face from the heat of the fires of Terminal City. Where was Alec?

Voicing her thoughts, White asked, "Where's 494? We need to watch out for him, because he'll get help."

"494 wasn't here when we arrived, Sir," said one of the Familiars.

"He was fighting three Brothers… did you see them?"

"No, Sir."

Ames cursed under his breath and suddenly didn't look so sure of himself. "Find 494."

"That won't be necessary."

The Familiars whirled around to see Alec standing behind them, along with Jondy, Zane, Zack, Brin, Pick, and Eddie. 

"I found a few friends to get the party started," said Alec with a smirk.

"Take care of them," ordered White. "I've got four fifty-two."

"I don't think so," said Alec, running forward with speed exceeding a normal X5's. He took the gun from White and shoved him over.

Meanwhile, Zack and Jondy jumped the other four Familiars. Guns went off, but none hit their marks. Zane and Pick put down Brin and Eddie to leap into the disarray. Zack pulled a gun from his pack as he wrestled with one of the Familiars. He pulled the trigger four times, striking her in the chest, and she went down. She wasn't dead, however, and as Zack stood she kicked him in the back of the knees, causing him to topple over once again.

Alec and Max faced down White, who was now barely bothered by his broken leg. He seemed to be getting energy from the sheer hatred he felt. Alec emptied the clip of the gun and tossed it aside pointedly.

"Fool," growled Ames. "Your sentimentality is going to get you killed… tonight."

"Don't be so sure," Alec replied. He jumped forward and kicked Ames across the face with both feet, but Ames caught his foot and threw him into the ground with staggering force.

"This is endgame," announced White in an eerie voice, looking up at Max.

"Bite me." She punched him across the face and jumped onto his back, slamming her fists into his face with all her might.

Ames thrust his upper body downward, sending Max flying over his head. As soon as he straightened up, however, he found himself face-to-face with a very, very angry Alec.

"This is for me." He kicked him in the temple. "This is for Max." He punched him across the face. "This is for Logan." He punched him again. "And this is for Joshua." He grabbed the back of White's neck, ready to snap it.

"I don't think so."

Alec froze as he felt cold steel pressing into his neck. He peeked through the corner of his eyes to see a Centurion standing there with an automatic.

"You shoot Agent White and I'll be forced to terminate," declared the Centurion.

"Let's play dominos," interrupted Max, grabbing the Centurion's neck in a hold identical to Alec's. They found themselves in a very, very complicated situation. Alec was set to kill White, the Centurion was set to kill Alec, and Max was set to kill the Centurion.

Meanwhile, Jondy managed to get on top of her Familiar adversary. "Give up?" she asked, placing a gun to his forehead.

"Go to hell."

Jondy closed her eyes and pulled the trigger, wincing as blood splattered all over her. Another shot rang out and she whirled around to see Zack's opponent crumple to the ground, blood spurting from the hole in her neck. Zane had ripped off his shirt and had wrapped it around his enemy's face, suffocating her to death. Pick had already taken care of his Familiar, who was lying lifeless on the ground with a broken neck. Simultaneously, they turned to look at Max and Alec's dilemma.

"Don't move or they're dead!" shouted the Centurion at the other X5s. Another Centurion pulled himself up the side of the building and ran over behind Max, putting a gun to her back as well.

"Well isn't this just dandy," mumbled Jondy, holding out a hand. "Calm down, guys. Let Max and Alec go and we _won't_ kill you."

"The United States Government has ordered the death of all transgenics," replied one of the Centurions. "We're not moving until they let go of Agent White."

Zack and the others slowly came up behind Jondy, who was inching forward. "Come on, just put the guns down."

"Our orders are to take out all transgenics," repeated the Centurion. "Our mission is to kill 452."

"Whoa, whoa… Let's not get too caught up in Manticore games," said Jondy with narrowed eyes.

"Stop moving!" shouted a Centurion. "Not another step. Take the bullets out of your gun."

Jondy immediately let the clip drop to the ground but, unseen by the Centurion, left one bullet in the barrel. She licked her lips and sighed. "We're gonna be stuck here for a long, long time."

"That's right," said Alec. "So let's end it." He looked at Jondy and suddenly she heard his voice… not inside her head, no… she _heard_ his voice. His neck was moving as if he were talking, but his mouth remained still.

_[The Centurions can't hear this, but you can. I have the same extra vocal chords that you do, so we can communicate through ultrasound]_ he said solemnly. _[I know you can hear me. I want you to get Max out of the way as soon as I move. Got it? Touch your ear if you can understand.]_

Jondy reached up and scratched her ear.

Alec smiled. _[Good. On three… one… two… three!]_ He hit the Centurion behind him with his elbow, knocking the Centurion back into Max. They both toppled to the floor. The second Centurion fired, but instead of striking Alec or Max he hit White in the shoulder. Alec grabbed the gun from the Centurion, whipped White around so that he had him in a death grip with one arm, and placed the gun to his head. While he was doing this, Jondy had swooped in and pulled Max away from the dog pile. Zack shot and killed the two Centurions, leaving just Alec and White. The end was in sight.

"Alright, White, give up and I won't kill you," negotiated Alec. "Give in. It's over."

"Haven't you learned anything?" White slammed his head against Alec, grabbed his gun, and shot him.

"NO!" screamed Max as Alec fell to the ground, blood pooling underneath him. She took the gun from her sister and pointed it at White.

"Here we are again… this cycle is getting boring," barked Ames. "And you don't have any bullets left."

Max cocked the trigger.

"She has one," said Jondy. "The hand is quicker than the eye."

White's eyes widened and he ducked.

A single shot rang out.

White yelled in surprise and everyone froze, but Ames remained unhurt. Max still had the gun trained on him.

"One final shot to end it all… and you missed," said White with a smirk. "Now it's my turn." He raised his gun and—

BANG!

Blood and brains splattered everywhere as the bullet hit White in the forehead. He fell over, dead… at long last.

Max dropped the gun and ran over to Alec, who was sheet white and had his eyes closed. She gingerly touched his face and his eyes shot open. "Alec!"

"Damn… damn, damn, damn," grumbled the male X5, looking at the hole in the shoulder. "I won't be able to have sex for like a month with this."

"Alec… where did he hit you?" asked Max, tears running down her face.

"I'm not gonna die, Maxie… Remember what Lydecker told us? About the safe spot to get shot?" He wiped a tear from her face with his thumb. "I'm okay."

Max suddenly narrowed her eyes at him. "You ASS! I thought you were dead!"

Alec laughed.

"Phew. That was close," said Jondy. She looked at Brin, who was grinning through her pain. "You are a brilliant, brilliant sista."

"What are you talking about?" asked Pick.

"Do you think Max had two bullets? That first 'bullet' was Brin. She made that sound and threw Ames off enough to let Max kill him."

"Hey, can we stop talking and get these guys outta here? Looks like we need to get them some medical attention _now,_" asked Max, waving a hand toward Brin and Eddie as well as her lover.

"Alright. One of the choppers isn't too far. We'll head over there… but I think Zane and I'll stay behind to collect bodies," said Zack solemnly. "I'll start with this one." He picked Ames' corpse up and, with a lion's roar of triumph, tossed it over the side of the building and into the fiery inferno below.

And so the war for Terminal City ended. Max, Alec, Brin, Jondy, Pick, and Eddie all looked out the window as they flew away, Jondy piloting the bird. The war had been won, but the home front was lost. Flames engulfed nearly every building in the city, sending waves of heat against the helicopter. Just outside the perimeter, Ordinaries had gathered in the thousands, lining all sides of the city. They were dead silent. It was as if they were in some kind of trance. Nothing moved except the flames. No one knew what to do. Even the police and National Guard seemed at a loss for what was happening. Zane and Zack had been left behind to gather up what bodies they could find and take off in the last helicopter. It was risky since there could still be Centurions left in the city, but they weren't going to leave their comrades to die in a fiery hellhole. A risk worth taking.

"Where are we going?" asked Max after a long silence.

"Washington," replied Jondy.


	10. Epilogue

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters in this story that appear in the hit syndicated TV show, Dark Angel, owned and created by James Cameron. I do, however, own any and all original characters that appear in this work of fan fiction. The Siege 

by

Brin 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

**Epilogue**

_TWO MONTHS LATER_

"One year ago today, several hundred transgenics were freed from a Manticore facility just south of Seattle by Max Guevara, a transgenic herself, who had been imprisoned at the facility for a period of three months. Since that time, Dr. Shankar and Dr. Sam Carr of Seattle, through close observation of the transgenics' health patterns and blood work, have developed cures for paralysis, the common cold, chicken pox, cancer, and a number of diseases and conditions that were previously considered untreatable.

This is my life 

_It_'_s not what_ _it was_ _before_

_All these feelings I_'_ve shared_

_And these are my dreams_

_That I_'_ve never lived before_

"A secret government operation exploiting millions of dollars in tax money to capture these transgenics was uncovered by Logan Cale, Max Guevara, and Alec Brady. With the help of several undercover transgenics, the president was found to be part of this illegal operation and was immediately impeached from office. As soon as he left office, X5 and police investigators discovered that he had illegitimately laundered at least five million tax dollars for his own use.

_Somebody_ _shake_ _me _'_cause_ _I_

_I must be sleeping_

_Now that we_'_re here_

_So far away_

_All the struggle we_ _thought_ _was_ _in vain_

"Hundreds of lives have been saved by the work of Logan Cale, Max Guevara, and Alec Brady. But hundreds of lives have been lost as well—transgenic lives. These lives were lost because of men like the former president, who were allowed to roam freely in America's treasury. Three months ago, The City of Last Hope, popularly known as Terminal City, was brutally attacked by the government using an advanced form of transgenics. Last Hope was burned to the ground, and some of Seattle with it. Two hundred transgenics died in the holocaust of Last Hope that summer evening.

_All the_ _mistakes_ _one_ _life contained_

_They all finally start to go away_

_And now that we_'_re here_

_So far_ _away_

"And now, at the beginning of a new presidential reign, we transgenics have been granted the rights of American citizens. Months of rugged negotiation was a small price to pay for this day. The document concluding all that I have said here requires at least five transgenic signatures and five signatures from members of the cabinet, along with the president's. I am honored to—" Krit stopped talking as someone walked over and whispered in his ear. His face went from confused to excited to terrified in half a second. "Excuse me, I have to go. My wife's having a baby!" And with that, he quickly exited the stage, leaving an empty podium and shocked press.

Max elbowed Alec. "Finish it!"

Alec's eyes widened. "Me? But—"

Ignoring his protests, Max shoved Alec up to the podium. Cameras started flashing like one continuous stream of light, momentarily throwing the X5 off-guard. He waited for the press to finish their onslaught of pictures before looking down at the messily scribbled speech that Krit had obviously written the night before.

_And_ _I_ _feel_ _like I can_ _face the day_

_I can forgive_

_And I_'_m not ashamed_

_To be_ _the_ _person that_ _I am today_

He cleared his throat and picked up where Krit left off, his voice a bit shaky. "I am honored to be here this night, to witness the dawning of a new American age. The new president, formerly the vice president, has helped in overthrowing the totalitarian system of the former president. From here, America should rise to glory once again, but it is clear that America will never be what it was before the Pulse—and we believe that that may be a good thing. American can start afresh and become what it's forefathers dreamt of—the true land of the free. That in mind, let us welcome this new age and the new American way it will bring. Peace. Out."

_These_ _are_ _my_ _words_

_I_'_ve never said before_

_I think I_'_m doing okay_

_This is the smile_

_That I_'_ve never shown before_

A loud cheering broke out amongst the audience, and Alec timidly bowed his head before going back over to Max, who smiled and took his hand in hers. This was it; the top of the mountain. They had finally done it, had finally achieved normalcy – legally, anyway… and that was enough for them, and for transgenics across America. The symbolism of being recognized as people—as citizens—was worth all the struggle they had endured to get here.

_Somebody_ _shake_ _me _'_cause_ _I_

_I_ _must_ _be_ _sleeping_

_Now that_ _we_'_re here_

_So far away_

_All_ _the struggle_ _we thought_ _was in vain_

The new president stepped up to the podium and a helper brought out the Transgen Treaty document. He pulled out a feather pen and signed it, then five members of the cabinet followed.

When they were done, all was silent. The first line of press even cowered back a bit as Zack stepped up to the podium and picked up the pen. Everyone held their breaths. He stared at them solemnly, then smiled, much to everyone's surprise. Cameras flashed like mad. He ducked his head and put his John Hancock on the first line, then handed the pen to Jondy, who did the same. One by one—Zack, Jondy, Max, Alec, Zane, and Brin signed the document. At first, everyone had decided on just Zack, Jondy, Max, Alec, and Krit signing the document because they were, essentially, the leaders of Terminal City. Max and Jondy protested, however, and soon Brin and Zane were lined up as well. But they weren't the last to be added to the list.

_All the mistakes_ _one_ _life_ _contained_

_They all_ _finally_ _start to_ _go away_

_And now that we_'_re here_

_So_ _far_ _away_

A collective gasp went through the crowd as Pick and Eddie stepped into view. Eddie teetered on a crutch while Pick had one arm around her waist, helping her stay upright. Now the press went mad, suddenly shouting questions and rushing forward to try and interview the anomaly, who was the first many of them had ever seen up close.

_And I feel_ _like_ _I_ _can_ _face the day_

_I_ _can_ _forgive_

_And I'm not ashamed_

_To be the_ _person_ _that_ _I am today_

Eddie shielded her cat eyes, sensitive to the light of the flashes, as the X5s rushed forward to contain the crowd. Unlike the X series, anomalies were not been trained to be immune to the fear of public appearances. Years and years of living in the basement with minimal Ordinary contact had made them fearful and shy. Things were not improved when they escaped the basements and were forced to live underground. Truth be told, this was the first time Eddie had ever been in front of more than just a few Ordinaries.

"That's enough! Stay behind the line!" shouted Zack, pushing the last camera behind the yellow safety line they had set up. He gave them a scowl, which effectively scared them into compliance. "Don't you see she's scared? Stop flashing the cameras. All she's gonna do is sign."

_I_'_m_ _so_ _afraid_ _of waking_

_Please don_'_t shake me_

_Afraid of waking_

_Please_ _don_'_t_ _shake_ _me_

Slowly, cautiously, Eddie limped up the podium and picked up the pen. She looked at Pick timidly, and he only smiled back. Her brown eyes peeked out at the hundreds of people watching her every move, then turned downwards towards the simple piece of paper with several signatures on it. She steadied herself against Pick, leant forward, and signed the document. The press looked like they were about to surge forward again, but they controlled themselves. Pick took the pen from Eddie and signed the document—sealing it. Now an uproar of cheering and applause broke out, cameras flashing. The president shook hands with each of the transgenics and they were now open to press interview. It was a madhouse.

_Now_ _that we_'_re_ _here_

_So_ _far_ _away_

_All the_ _struggle we_ _thought_ _was in vain_

_All the mistakes one life contained_

_They all finally_ _start_ _to go away_

After two hours of interviews and pictures, Max and the other transgenics discreetly snuck out the back door. They headed to the hospital Syl was staying in, the excited feeling of her having a baby just now catching up with them. They must've looked a bit odd clothed in expensive dresses, but they ignored the surprised glances they received from patients and workers alike.

"Hi, I'm looking for Syl Guevara," announced Max to the nurse at the front desk. "She just had a baby."

"Are you family?" asked the nurse, who was obnoxiously chewing a wad of gum the size of her tongue.

"As close as she's gonna get."

"Room 503."

"Thank you." Max grinned and walked away, the others close behind.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Knock-knock," Jondy opened the door slightly and peeked in. Syl was lying on the hospital bed looking worn and haggard. Krit was by her side, holding a tiny pink bundle. Softly clapping her hands, Jondy immediately hurried over to peek at the baby girl. The others filed in behind her.

Max walked around the side of the bed and took Syl's hand. "How are you, big sister?" she asked as she sat on the edge of the cot. "You look like hell."

Syl smiled weakly. "Thanks a lot, little sister," she replied with a slow shake of her blonde head. "But it was worth it."

"Did you guys think of a name yet?" asked Jondy, folding back the blanket a bit to see a pudgy little face. "She looks just like Krit!"

"Her name… is Eve," said Krit with a smile.

"It's perfect," declared Jondy, her eyes sparkling. "She's the first, after all. The first transgenic baby born after the treaty." She touched the baby's fluff of blonde hair and sighed dreamily. "I want one."

They stuck around talking to the new parents for a while, but eventually Syl slipped off into exhausted sleep and the proud aunties and uncles finally left, feeling almost as bushed as Syl. Max and Alec retreated to their hotel room, where they changed into sweatpants and t-shirts and flopped on the bed, wrapped in each other's arms.

"I love you, Maxie," he whispered in her ear as he affectionately stroked her hair.

"I love you too, Alec," she replied, kissing him.

"Twenty years, we've been off-the-books science projects… now we're people. How do you feel?" asked the male X5 with a grin. "It is, after all, your doing. All your fault, Maxie. All your fault…"

Max smiled up into his emerald green eyes. "To tell you the truth, I don't really feel different… just… satisfied. Really satisfied." She flicked his nose playfully. "So what happens now?"

Alec grinned back and gave her supple waist a light squeeze. "Well, Max… this is the part where we turn to the next page and read aloud, 'And they lived happily ever after'."

_And_ _now_ _that_ _we_'_re here_

So far away 

_And I feel like_ _I can_ _face the day_

_I can forgive_

_And I_'_m not ashamed_

_To be the_ _person_ _that_ _I am today_

_finis._


End file.
